Women, Wellness & Wisdom

Welcome back! After a bit of a break we are pleased to be able to release this episode in which we talk with the lovely Karin Fleisch about her work with non-profits, as well as practical steps we can all take towards being mindful of the environment and sustainability in our own lives.. Topics include food insecurity, social inequity, philanthropy, the environment, sustainability, recycling and Aliyah! Thank you to the anonymous sponsor who has enabled this episode to be edited, and in so doing has helped spread the important information Karin shares.

Rachael Sacerdoti Founder, It’s SO Simple Rachael is a fitness coach whose own transformation led to a number of friends asking for her to help them achieve the same.  What began as an initiative to help a handful of friends to stay in shape, quickly developed into a vibrant global community of women.  Spurred on by the challenges her peers were facing in the COVID induced lockdowns, Rachael launched It’s So Simple. Utilising the tools and techniques Rachael found effective, It’s SO Simple is a fitness programme for the mind and body that provides motivation, accountability, community and education. Since the inception of It’s SO Simple in July 2020, Rachael has coached more than 150 women from all over the world -- UK, Germany, Netherlands, USA, Singapore, Morocco, South Africa and the UAE - ranging from ages 18 to 65. It’s So Simple is a real labour of love for Rachael. Sharing the experience of her journey and the knowledge acquired along the way to empower women to take control of their choices, support one another and learn how to develop healthy attitudes towards food and eating, exercise and a strong sense of accountability. Rachael combines a wealth of knowledge gained across the fields of nutrition and exercise with a passion to help empower women. Her incredible work ethic has been inherited from her entrepreneur parents.  Born in Singapore to an Iraqi family, Rachael has lived and worked across three continents, including both coasts of the US, Malaysia, and London where she now resides with her husband, three kids (ages 8, 7 and 4) and their labradoodle, Boris. Here is a link to the recipe Rachael mentions in the interview: https://ottolenghi.co.uk/recipes/roasted-chicken-legs-with-dates-olives-and-capers You can find Rachael on Instagram : @itssosimple_rs Her website is www.itssosimple.co.uk

Merissa Gross has been a shadchan/matchmaker for almost 20 years. She is originally from Glasgow, Scotland and after a Leeds University degree and working in the field of Politics and Communications, she moved to Israel. After marrying Chaim and starting her family, she began working in Jewish Outreach as a program manager and educator. Alongside this, her deepest inspiration and passion was to help Jewish souls together. She made her first match even before she got married, and continued from there on. With tremendous help from Hashem, Merissa has made many successful matches by coming up with ideas and coaching the couple through the dating process and to the chuppah. Glossary of Hebrew and Yiddish terms used: Shadchan - Jewish matchmaker Shidduch - a match Kiruv - jewish outreach Makom she ein ish - a place where there isn't anyone Tafkid - purpose Hatzlacha - luck Tziyata dishmaya - with the help of heaven Baruch Hashem - blessed is Hashem (Gd) Mir - a boys yeshiva in Israel Nishmat - a girls seminary in Israel Ben Torah - Torah Scholar Hashkafa - outlook/perspective Geshmak - meaningful Mekor - source Metzorah - tradition Torah shebichtav - the written Torah L'shem shamayaim - in the name of Heaven (no ulterior motive) Kochos - strengths Yeshua - salvation /rescue Siyata dishmaya - with the help of Heaven Bracha - blessing Low Cal Ice cream: 1 bag defrosted strawberries 1/2 cup sugar 2 egg whites mix in food processor or blender & freeze! www.merissagross.com

Our guest for this episode is Dr Brooke Vandermolen, a practicing Obstetrics & Gynaecology Registrar doctor, who has worked and trained in a variety of London NHS hospitals. She has presented her research into high-risk pregnancy at major international conferences and published in prominent medical journals. Brooke is experienced at dealing with all aspects of women’s health and pregnancy, including assessing patients with a range of gynaecological concerns, and performing and assisting in surgical procedures. Brooke has created her educational platform “The OBGYN mum” via which she shares insights and tips around pregnancy, fertility, menopause and more through social media and blog posts. She aims to empower women to feel in control of their health throughout their lives by imparting knowledge in a relatable way and myth-busting common taboo subjects. Brooke is also co-founder of The Birth Collective, a group of experienced healthcare professionals comprising of Doctors, Midwives & Lactation Consultants all currently working within Maternity in NHS hospitals across the UK. The Birth Collective provides access to online birth preparation courses, covering antenatal preparation, pregnancy yoga, hypnobirthing, breastfeeding and more. They also regularly run live group classes on topics such as preparing for birth after a caesarean, diabetes in pregnancy and more. Instagram: @theobgynmum Website: theobgynmum.com www.thebirthcollective.org www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/lamb-apricot-meatballs

Dr Naomi Coleman is a child psychologist and a yoga therapist. Naomi has a BSc (Hons) in Neuroscience from Sussex University and an MEd in Educational Psychology from Manchester University where she specialised in Autism and social cognitive skills. Alongside her studying, she gained work experience in Psychiatric wards – NHS and Private, a Brain Injury Rehabilitation unit, and a Medium Secure unit for adults with Learning Disabilities Naomi also has a Doctoral Degree in Clinical Psychology from the University of East London. During her training she specialised in child and adolescent work in CAMHS and Specialist CAMHS for children with Learning Disabilities and Neurodevelopmental disorders During her training she was profoundly impacted by the loss of her brother Jeremy, and co-founded Jeremy’s Circle charity – where she takes on a fundraising role. As a qualified clinical psychologist she helped jointly set up and develop the Parenting Service in Ealing as the ‘Parenting Lead’ running and coordinating several ‘parenting programmes’ for families with additional needs In Barnet CAMHS – she provided counselling to high school girls, consultation to schools and CAMHS clinic referrals. Alongside her work here she trained in Yoga Therapy at The Minded Institute. She wanted to add this to her skill set as she saw the value both personally and professionally. Movement based therapeutic skills are important as many find it hard to, can’t or don’t want to talk about their difficulties. As part of the Luton Specialist CAMHS Neurodevelopmental Team Naomi worked with families with children with neurodevelopmental needs. She worked closely with the paediatricians Autism assessment clinic and also running groups for parents of children with ADHD Naomi now practises privately as Chartered Child Clinical Psychologist in Elstree and Harley Street, London. Link to Naomi's blog : www.naomij-coleman.medium.com Jeremy's circle - www.jeremyscircle.org

In this episode we speak to Yudit Sugarman, meditation and visualization expert.  We discuss ways in which meditation can help with stress and anxiety, especially relevant at the moment when the future is so uncertain. jewishvisualisation.com is a unique space dedicated to providing you with exercises to help you to connect to G-d as well as resources to help you overcome difficulties, all from an Orthodox Jewish perspective. Run from the UK by Rebbetzin Ruthie Halberstadt and Yudit Sugarman, their goals are: ⁃ to help you to expand your spiritual consciousness ⁃ to give you a means of experiencing your inner world ⁃ to offer you tools to navigate and work on your deeper self Yudit suggest that you take a few minutes now to think about what fills you up and set aside the time to do just that.... even if it’s just five minutes a day.  One method that works well for many is meditation. By regulating the breath, we can calm our minds, creating an island of peace even on the busiest of days. Contrary to what many think, this is actually an ancient Jewish practice. It allows us to hear our own inner, intuitive voice and develop a feeling of closeness to G-d/Hashem.  Yudit's Favourite Books include -  Jewish Meditation, Aryeh Kaplan.   Out of the Depths - Rabbi Israel Meir Lau.   The Choice by Edith Eger Yudit's favourite receipe can be found on our Instagram page Website: www.jewishvisualization.com Please contact us if you wish to speak to Yudit directly, we can pass on her details.

Join us for this conversation with Charlotte in which she shares with us her varied experience. We chat about her background in education and community work, her interest in healing, being a doula and supporting other women through childbirth, her approach to parenting (toddler to teenager!), acupuncture, marriage, personal growth & more! Charlotte mentions Menucha a new charity offering perinatal help for women - www.menucha.info Books mentioned - Hold on to your kids by Gabor Mate The Empowered Wife - Laura Doyle Challah recipe -  2oz fresh yeast dissolved in 200ml water with 1 heaped T caster sugar 1 heaped T salt - put in bottom of large bowl 1 bag (1.5kg) strong flour - add to bowl 7 heaped T sugar - add to bowl (can put 8 if you want it sweeter or add raisins) 4oz cooking oil - add to bowl 550ml warm water - add to bowl Follow this order because the salt must not touch the yeast.  Once the yeast has dissolved add to the bowl and mix all ingredients together.  Let it rise for 1-2 hours.  Plait the dough and leave to rise another 1/2 an hour.  Coat challahs with egg and sprinkle sesame or poppy seeds.  Cook for 25 mins at 180 degrees.  For small challah bake for 15 mins. Favourite Quote - "You can't make someone do better by making them feel worse" (including yourself!) Charlotte can be found at @char_hotter on Instagram Charlotte's doula practice - Serene Birthing 

Dalia shares with us her holistic and wholesome approach to nutrition in clear terms and answers our questions about food and cooking, including the kosher diet which can tend towards the unhealthy end of the spectrum! A fascinating conversation; she’s so knowledgeable we could have spoken to her for hours!

Rivka Zeidman did her first degree in computer science, worked in IT for an investment bank and subsequently qualified as a teacher.  After taking around 10 years out of her career to fully devote herself to raising her 5 children, she feels passionately about supporting other parents on their journey.  Rivka loves studying, learning and sharing parenting wisdom.  Her material is profoundly influenced by what she has learnt from Rabbi Leib Keleman.  Books Rivka mentions:  To Kindle A Soul - Rabbi Leib Keleman  Holy Woman - Sara Rigler Raising Children to Care - Miriam Adahan Raising a Child with Soul - Slovi Jungreis Wolf  Roast chicken recipe:  1 whole chicken 6 cloves crushed garlic 4 T soy sauce 4 T honey 2 T balsamic vinegar You can also add several onions, I often do.  Roast uncovered at 180 degrees c for 1 hour and 10 minutes. Quotes:  "Closeness in the physical world is measured in cm, closeness in the spiritual world is measured in similarity" R' Leib Keleman "When you don't do anything for yourself your family doesn't love you more, your own body doesn't love you more and your heart certainly doesn't love you more.  Treat yourself well, you'll have better results".  Sara Chana Radcliffe

In our first interview, we chat to our good friend Michelle Barnett about her role in setting up and running Gift from her kitchen table in the early years, building it in to a large successful charitable organisation that affects the lives of hundreds of people.      Some of the topics we cover include:   Her career journey   Her philosophy on giving   Her vision for Gift   How she finds balance   What she does for self-care    The books mentioned in the interview are:    Talking to God by Naomi Levy    To Vanquish the Dragon by Pearl Benisch    Michelle's favourite quote:   "The meaning of life is to find your gift. The purpose of life is to give it away" Pablo Picasso    Michelle's bread machine challah recipe:   13.5oz water   2 & 1/4oz olive oil   2 & 1/4 t salt   2 & 1/4 t sugar   832g strong flour   1T dried yeast   Put ingredients in bread machine in above order and set to dough setting.  After dough is ready, roll out into challah or rolls and leave to rise for about an hour (can be less if in a hurry).  Brush with egg.  Top with sesame seeds.  Bake in pre-heated oven at 220 degrees for 12-14 mins.   Michelle uses granary flour and adds a handful of sun dried tomatoes and cut up olives.  She also uses slightly more flour than in the recipe.  You can find out more about Gift at www.jgift.org or email them at [email protected] They can be found on Facebook at GIFT Charity, Instagram @giftcharity and Twitter @GIFTcharity