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Anna Bordignon-Woman of Influence

Anna Bordignon-Woman of Influence

I was kindly nominated for the 2019 New Zealand Women of Influence Awards. Since accepting the nomination and becoming a finalist I have been thinking about what does this really mean to me and to others? 

We have received many other awards this year such as being a finalist in the Wellington Gold Awards, the Westpac Growth Awards to name a few, but this one has really got me thinking about what it really means to me and others.

According to the official line of the 'Women of Influcence awards'.....

'the Women of Influence Awards recognise the passionate women who are creating real change and forging a path for others'

I do feel very humbled that what we have been saying for the last 5 years is having an influence on our society.  We have been messaging 'no plastic' and the need for alternative products to be affordable and accessible and now this message has become main stream.  Our other messages like the need to support those who would otherwise be excluded from the financial world by providing them accessible and flexible work to advocating healthy food options to our children.  Also the distribution of our products in New Zealand is now very strong so people are able to access them and learn more about us 

Although I do know of many other women who are doing amazing things for our society and what I like about these awards is that it acknowledges influence not just on the business level but also grass roots community level.  There are plenty of women out there who are doing so much more than I will ever be able too and it is great to celebrate these women as well.

It is really hard for me sometimes to sum up everything that our brands stand for, but some of the key words are as follows:

inclusion, community, food, organics, environment, accessibility, flexibility, empathy, honesty, family, design, beauty 

So I do believe that our messages are influential but does that make me influential? I have never wanted to put my face to the brands.  Something that marketers would disapprove off!! The reason I have not wanted my face to grace all our social media channels is that I want our brands to live on post my involvement.  Also I want my personal life to be part of those that really know me and care deeply for my family. It is one of my most precious gifts.  

I suppose due to the issues that I have promoted, that makes me influential on some level.  But for me, the questions is have I been a good and kind influencer to people I have connected with?  I would like to think that I have been influential to the people I have personally touched. However no one is perfect, especially in times of stress, but I do hope that I have created some good for some people.  But I don't feel I need any recognition from those people but I do love to see people grow and develop alongside me and my business.  

Has it been easy to develop this business and become influential?  Absolutely not.  I have spent many hours working for free and disseminating our messages.  I have also spent a lot of money creating our business. I have also been a strong believer in providing our own revenue stream, as I believe a true social enterprise needs to stand on it's own two feet - no grants, no hand outs just good business revenue.  However this has been much much harder than I expected, especially when you want to do the right thing ie pay living wage, produce organic fabrics, produce in NZ etc.

I think it is really important for people to know that things take time, hard work and in reality, money.  I get rather annoyed when I see articles telling people business success can happen in a year, two years or even three.  In reality this is not the case at all.  But I do think it is better for the sole to 'take the leap'  rather than not at all. A few things that you do need for business success in my opinion is (again in key words)

passion, tenacity, persistence, curiosity for learning and optimism. 

Because I tell you there will be plenty of people who will be negative, give up on you and our tall poppy syndrome that we have in New Zealand is not helpful for leaders.   

I am not sure I really have answered my question. But I guess, I am proud of the influence we have created through our messages. I hope that I am a good influence on people who I interact with and I do want people to know that business success does not come easy.

Thanks for reading.

A x

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Plastic Free July Workshop

Plastic Free July Workshop

Start your family's zero waste journey with us during Plastic Free July and post July...

Only $25 for a goodie bag, drinks and nibbles and loads of things to learn.  Small steps can make a big difference.  Don't worry we don't expect you to give up your toilet paper for reusable cloth rags!!

It will be lots of fun.

BUY YOUR TICKET NOW

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Starting solids with easy purees

Starting solids with easy purees

I found giving our babies their first taste of solid food to be an exciting and daunting milestone in their first year of life. I’m sure most mums and dads feel this way. 

Starting solids definitely requires you to be more organised. So having the right equipment and recipes really helps. Up until this point I had exclusively breastfed both our children on demand, following their cues as to when they were hungry. I found this pretty instinctive and because I am lucky enough to be able to breastfeed, feeding was uncomplicated and could happen anywhere, anytime! Here are a couple of tricks that helped make starting solids a much simpler and less time consuming process:

  • Make purees in bulk and freeze straight away. I am a bit bias, but the Munch Baby Trays and the Food Pouches are awesome for freezing baby food. (Don’t forget to label them!)
  • Cook extra vegetables and meat for your evening meal and turn them into baby food.
  • Make sure you have a good feeding spoon. Again (not bias) but I love the Bamboo Baby Spoons by Munch and the one that comes with the Munch Eco Hero Dinnerset. Both are great sizes, soft, smooth and easily cleaned.
  • Use our natural and soft Baby organic facecloths to wipe your little ones face after a messy meal.
  • Leave out the salt when you are cooking slow-cooked meals so you can make this into baby food. If you are worried that the flavours will be too strong you can always ‘water’ it down with a root vegetable puree.
  • I love going 'out and about' with my babies and I find the Munch Baby Feeder and Food Pouch fantastic for taking food to the park or to friends places.
  • If you have other children puree up their meals and feed them to your baby.
  • Have a stash of baby food in the pantry for those days when you’re not quite so organised! 

Each baby is so different and they are likely to have their ‘likes’ and ‘dislikes’. Just like adults. As a baby my little one LOVED mashed banana and wouldn’t eat avocado where as my other one absolutely LOVED pea puree, she is a complete eating machine and I’m yet to find something she won’t eat!

I introduced the following foods first over a period of about 3 weeks:
  • Butternut Squash
  • Pumpkin
  • Carrot
  • Kumara (sweet potato)
  • Courgette
  • Avocado
  • Banana (ripe and squashy)
  • Pea
  • Apple
  • Pear
  • Potato
  • Chicken & Lentils (after about 2 weeks)

If you are confused about which foods your baby can eat check out the list in the Munch Baby Cookbook or the watties printables as they have a helpful guide to baby feeding. Once you have introduced a few foods you can start to mix foods to create some tasty purees for your baby. Here are 3 purees both my children have enjoyed.

ROOT VEGETABLE COMBO

Root vegetables are a great way to start you baby on solids as they are easy to puree and sweet tasting. The first food my little one ate was Butternut Squash. I used this puree as a base when I introduced stronger flavoured solids and also added meat to it later on.

1/3 Butternut Squash
1 Orange Kumera
1 Carrot

Wash, peel and cube all the vegetables. Place in a saucepan and cover with water.

Boil on a medium heat for 10-15 minutes until soft.

Remove from the heat and place the vegetables into a container for blending. Do not drain the water away!

Blend add the cooking water bit by bit to achieve the consistency desired.

Cover and cool then freeze into portions immediately.

BUTTERNUT SQUASH, CHICKEN & APPLE PUREE

This is a great first meat puree as it is sweet in flavour and I’ve found chicken easy to puree into a smooth consistency. I’ll be sharing some more meat purees with you next week.

1/3 Butternut Squash
80 – 100g chicken breast
1/2 apple

Peel the butternut squash and apple. Place in a saucepan and cover with water.

Boil on a medium heat for 10-15 minutes until soft.

Meanwhile poach the chicken breast in water until cooked through. Place into boiling water, bring to the boil and then take off the heat. Check about 10 minutes later or if you are not in a hurry just leave in the water to cool. You’ll know they are cooked because they are firm to touch. I find chicken purees best after poaching.

Combine all the ingredients into a container for blending. Do not drain the water away!

Blend and add the vegetable water bit by bit to achieve the consistency desired.

Cover and cool then freeze into portions immediately.

We have a lot more great healthy and nutritious Baby Food in our Munch Baby Cookbook and our Munch Baby Puree Ebook. 

Enjoy the journey!

xx

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5 reasons to stop single use plastic

5 reasons to stop single use plastic

By 2050 there will be more plastic in the ocean than fish.  BUT we can all do our bit to stop this from happening. One person can make a difference and everyone must try.  Remember we are role models for our children. Let's start with looking at plastic straws and pegs.

1 Most plastic is toxic

Some plastic straws and pegs are still being made with materials that are potentially toxic or carcinogenic.

2 Plastic is not biodegradable

Even though many disposable straws and pegs are made from recyclable materials, they can be difficult to recycle. According to the Strawless Ocean in the US, plastic straws are too lightweight for recycling sorters and drop through sorting screens and end up in landfills. (And that’s only if someone bothers putting them in the recycling bin to begin with.) As for pegs, majority of the time they break and just end up in the rubbish bin without people even considering to recycle them. But just like straws the likelihood of pegs being able to be recycled is very low in most countries.

Plastic can remain in the environment for over 2,000 years because (most) plastic is not biodegradable. So your delicious drink that you sipped through a straw in 2 minutes will in fact last in the environment for generations. Is this being fair?

In fact, it’s likely that every straw you’ve ever used in your life still exists in the environment somewhere. It just degrades until its microscopic. Even burning it creates harmful dioxin emissions that are bad for your health and the environment.

3 Straws and pegs pollute the ocean

For several different reasons, straws and pegs frequently end up in the ocean because they’re littered on the beach, blown out of trashcans, or washed down storm drains, among other reasons. Studies predict that by 2050, there will be more plastic in the ocean than fish by weight. Because of their small size, aquatic animals can confuse bits of plastic for food and choke on them.

4 Straws and pegs made from stainless steel can be reused

Stainless steel items in 316 steel grade can last for ever so that people can reuse and reuse and reuse.  Try thinking about buying products that will last you a life time not 2 minutes for you and 1 million years for our treasured environment.

5 Plastic Straws and Pegs are wasteful

An average person will go through 15,000 straws and 1,000 pegs in 60 years. No wonder a hundred thousand sea animals and a million birds die each year due to plastic consumption.

What can we do?

To make a change, it’s as simple as asking to not get a straw with your beverage when you order one. It may not feel like you can save the planet on your own, but little habits like this help raise awareness and your influence can easily spread. One small gesture can have a huge impact.

Buy products that last a life time and reuse them for ever.  Try our Munch Stainless Steel Straws and Pegs.  Carry your straws in our carry bag so you have a straw when you are out at a café or restaurant.

So say no to single use plastic and hello to products that you can reuse and not leave such a polluted footprint on our planet.

We can all do the right thing. Be empowered and then empower your children.

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We are on Kindo

We are on Kindo
Guess what? With one click you can join the Munch Eco Shop on your school KINDO platform.  There is no easier way to fundraise.  All you have to do is click that button and then your parents can order through KINDO.  Then we do the rest.  We deliver and we give your school a percentage of the sales. Easy pesy!

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