A workshop as a metaphor for life
Unity, collaboration, creativity, fun, and commitment are the key words that the fourth-year students of the Scientific High School with a Sports focus at the Donegani Institute in Sondrio have chosen to describe the creative workshop dedicated to preparing a balanced breakfast. The workshop, organized in collaboration with the Latteria di Chiuro, is part of the InMoWimento project, proposed to the school in 2022 by the Latteria di Chiuro and ASD DoppiaW, and has become a cornerstone of the educational offering for the three-year period. An experience that has not been limited to food but has taken on the value of a true metaphor for life, where planning together, harmonizing roles, and creating in groups become exercises in coexistence and personal growth.

The starting habits

Before getting to work, the students shared their usual breakfasts. It emerged that some of them do not have breakfast at all, while others limit themselves to something very quick and unbalanced, like cookies, chocolate, or cereal flakes enriched with unnecessary ingredients. Only one of the twenty-six participants reported having a varied breakfast, with sweet and savory alternatives based on bread, eggs, yogurt, and cereal flakes, but even in this case, fruit and vegetables were missing. These habits reflect the national trend: for many teenagers, breakfast is a neglected meal, difficult to organize in the hectic rhythms of school mornings, often replaced by snacks from vending machines or skipped entirely.

The practical experience

To turn the tide, an active and engaging approach was chosen, based on direct experience. The students found a buffet of simple ingredients, capable of fitting into the few minutes often available in the morning, divided into groups based on their nutritional value: rye bread, oatmeal, and puffed buckwheat for complex carbohydrates; yogurt, cheese, and hazelnuts for proteins; apples, pears, and carrots for the group of foods rich in protective active principles, along with condiments like extra virgin olive oil, butter, honey, and aromatic herbs. Organized into four groups, they were tasked with creating a complete and balanced breakfast recipe, freely choosing and creatively pairing the ingredients.

The recipes of creativity

Delicious and original breakfasts emerged, capable of enhancing simplicity and flavor. Two savory and two sweet, all presented with catchy titles and slogans invented by the students. The first, “Bruschettage scomposta,” combines rye bread, carrots, and grated casera cheese, enriched with aromatic herbs. Then “Giorgio,” a variation of rye bread crostini, fresh cheese, and carrots. On the sweet side, “Fantasia d’autunno,” with diced apples, cereal flakes, and hazelnuts, and “Yogurtino del mattino,” a combination of yogurt, cereal, and fruit, designed to be quick and nutritious, all complemented with rye bread crostini, fresh cheese, honey, and chopped hazelnuts. The initiative demonstrated how creativity can arise even from limited time and essential ingredients.

Cooperation and growth

During the preparation, the students worked in perfect harmony, spontaneously and collaboratively dividing tasks. The experience highlighted the importance of cooperating, listening, valuing everyone’s ideas, and transforming a practical activity into a moment of personal and group growth. Breakfast thus became a pretext for reflecting on how working together can improve the quality of results and relationships.

Changing habits

From the final reflection, the desire to change their dietary habits emerged, focusing on variety and more complete combinations, which do not rely solely on carbohydrates, whether simple or complex, but also integrate protective and protein-rich foods. However, the educational aspect of the workshop is not about breakfast itself, but about the opportunity to prepare it together, at school or, perhaps, at home, on weekends or during vacations, with family and friends. It is the transformation of food into a shared experience that teaches planning, organizing, collaborating, and taking care of oneself and others. The advantage of breakfast is that, based on simple recipes and essential ingredients, it does not require a large time investment but can become a small daily rite of well-being and conviviality.

The breakfast habits of teenagers

According to INRAN 2023 and EFSA 2024 data, about 35% of Italian teenagers skip breakfast, while the majority of those who do prefer foods high in sugar and low in nutrients. Only one in four consumes a morning meal that includes foods from at least three nutritional groups. The CREA 2023 guidelines recommend combining whole grains, yogurt or other protein sources, and fresh fruit, varying choices to ensure energy, concentration, and metabolic balance.