Weekend Brunch Picnic with Fernleaf

Hi guys, welcome back to my blog! Today I'll be sharing about a picnic I had with my friend Anis from the thethinkerbelle.com + all about Fernleaf!

So I started working here in KL for almost 2 years now, and I think of my fave things about KL is the people. Although I first met Anis as a fellow blogger via The Butterfly Project, I also came to know her later as a colleague at work. From discussing K-pop & beauty products to hunting down new foodie spots & sales, both of us have become quite close and I'm super glad and thankful to have her as my partner in crime!

This weekend we decided to take it easy and to chill, and what better way to chill than to have a picnic! We bought some food and set up a bright picnic area at Perdana Botanical Gardens. I'd never been there before and being that it was a weekend, I was actually surprised to find that it was pretty empty, calm and quiet!

Our choice of beverage for the day was milk from Fernleaf, and today I'll be sharing more about this new milky discovery of ours!

Fernleaf is a brand that brings the goodness of dairy from New Zealand family farms to families across Malaysia (as well as other countries like Singapore & Taiwan!).

Fernleaf milk spotted in Aeon grocery!

Due to their temperate climate where they have mild temperatures, moderate rainfall and abundant sunshine (over 2000 hours of sunlight annually!), New Zealand 🇳🇿 is one of the few places in the world where dairy cows can graze outdoors almost all year round on high-quality fresh grass that gives them the best from nature to produce nutritious milk. 

With high-quality grass, cosy climate, clean air and water, Fernleaf's cows produce milk naturally without needing any form of milk booster. Also, did you know that when dairy cows are grass-fed (rather than grain fed), their milk is even richer in nutrients? Grass-fed cows produce milk that contains beneficial nutrients like omega-3 fatty acids, omega-6 fatty acid, vitamin E, beta-carotene, CLA and more.

We all hear that fatty acids like omega-3 and omega-6 are important, but did you know that it's actually better to have a balanced intake of both these omegas? As a study in New Zealand showed, grass & pasture-fed cows produce a more preferable balance of fatty acids compared to those fed a higher proportion of grains. This may sound a bit complex, but what this means is that the more grass is in a cow's diet, the higher the quality of the milk in terms of its fatty acid composition. This is why New Zealand produces such high-quality milk! 🥛

I also mentioned that grass-fed dairy cows' milk contains CLA, and CLA is actually a beneficial fatty acid called conjugated linoleic acid that's used for energy and has powerful health effects (it can even aid in weight loss!). There are lots of types of CLAs, and the ones in Fernleaf's milk (since they're from grass-fed cows) are naturally derived from milk and are not made from vegetable oils.

You may be thinking, well, since New Zealand milk is so good, what makes Fernleaf so special? Aren't they just another milk producer from New Zealand? 

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Founded in 1886, Fernleaf has over 140 years of experience in dairy farming, giving Fernleaf a very big advantage over other milk companies. Their farmers’ heritage and expertise have helped them to really understand what dairy cows need, making them one of New Zealand (and the world's) dairy experts. I also watched a video of how their process really is:

Fonterra is Fernleaf's mother company!

From the video, you can see that not only do they give importance to their cows' healthy diet (the grass on their fields is specifically selected + they have a great irrigation system in place to make sure the grass is healthy and abundant), they also have top-notch equipment and facilities. Everything is well thought out and is super high quality, so that's why I'm very confident in placing my trust in Fernleaf.

Our theme for our picnic was bright yellow, and to be honest we looked so cute!

As Instagrammers, we're both very aesthetic and we like to do everything colour coordinated and just picture perfect haha. It was definitely such a great break from work life to just sit back and enjoy a simple meal with a friend. We laughed, chatted and just overall had an amazing day. We were also joined by my brother Euri who (aside from chatting with us + making us laugh) helped us snap these amazing #100Mmmmm shots! 💛

For our snacks, we actually packed some cereal & bread. I personally really like plain cereal because I grew up with it. I never really cared much for those fancy shmacy cereals: all I needed was some nice cold milk & I was content!

One of our topics that day was actually if we were more of a cereal or a sandwich kinda person. We ended up agreeing that we're both ahahaha FOOD IS LIFE!

Aside from normal full cream milk, Fernleaf actually has a chocolate flavooured one available as well. We paired the choco ones with our sandwiches and tbh I quite like it! It's not as sweet as Milo, but it still was chocolatey and fresh, I think kids (and adults who have a sweet tooth like me) would definitely love it.

We also played with some funky straws as well, and you can buy and find them for very cheap on Lazada!

Like I said, we had a great time and it was only cut by the ever so fabulous rain 😂. We were kinda lucky because there was a nearby gazebo from our picnic spot, and we managed to duck for cover before the rain became super heavy.

We were actually laughing about it because it was so random! I guess our picnic was so lit that the rain wanted to join in. It's just one of those fun experiences that I'll definitely be looking back fondly in the future. Its this kind of stuff which happens serendipitously that makes life #100Mmmmm good I guess! 💕

After the rain, the sun always shines through!

Every day, Malaysians actually consume more than 2.2 million glasses of Fonterra brand milk, and that includes Fernleaf milk as well! Drinking milk is something that I think is a part of everyone's life here in Malaysia, and I actually think that it should grow from more than just a breakfast drink. People should opt for it more as their choice of beverage after eating a meal like lunch or dinner rather than artificially sugary drinks like Coke or soda.

Milk 🥛 is a good source of quality protein, and it also helps prevent weight gain. It also contains calcium which is good for your bone & teeth health. I think milk should be consumed not only by growing kids or by the eldery, and that it should be consumed by young adults like me as well.

Not all milk, however, is made equally, and not all of them have the same amount of nutrients. This is why I prefer Fernleaf's milk, because aside from the fact that their products are made with 100% milk from New Zealand, they also have a long history of dairy farming and they know to get the best and highest quality milk from the cows that they lovingly raise.

Fernleaf is available in major supermarkets and convenience stores nationwide, and I definitely urge you guys to give them a try today!

I got some more Fernleaf milk when my mom did some grocery shopping last week in Melaka, and now my family's loving them too! The 100ml full cream/chocolate milk is available for RM6.69, while a pack of four 200ml full cream/chocolate milk cartons cost RM5.80 in Aeon.

Fernleaf milk spotted in Aeon grocery!

🥛 🐮 🇳🇿 🥛 🐮 🇳🇿 🥛 🐮 🇳🇿 🥛 🐮 🇳🇿

Our picnic, although cut short, was definitely a success, and I can't wait for our next outing! If you guys are planning any outings with your friends & family, I suggest bringing along some Fernleaf milk to accompany you while you make #100Mmmmm good memories!

And that's it for this post! I hope you found this post fun and informative 💓

Thanks for reading through, see ya in the next one!