In this episode of A Great Recipe for Life I talk to Debra Cerasa, CEO of Otway Health. 

Deb has worked in the health sector for about 40 years, starting as a nurse and then training as a midwife. She has long been interested in women's health, health and social justice and the social determinants of health.

She moved into the health management/executive space about 20 years ago and has worked in hospitals and not-for-profits in senior roles including as CEO. Deb joined Otway Health as CEO in 2015.

Deb and I met over twitter in 2012 and soon after that we met over a glass of wine when we both just happened to be in Canberra at the same time - which twitter told us!

Deb and I talk a lot about how social media can improve health outcomes, and we talk a little about this today. Of course, we also share a huge love of food and travel, and until recently Deb also owned a cooking school in regional Victoria - which she started as a hobby!

And yes, you can hear the planes fly overhead as I live in the flight path... and there is the occasional train going past too. It adds to the ambience...

[bctt tweet=""Health and education is a right and not a privilege" @debracerasa " username="melkettle"]

You can find Deb at Otway Health. 

You can follow Deb on twitter @debracerasa. 

You can listen to this episode via the link above, on iTunes or Stitcher or via the podcast app on your smartphone.

What we discussed

•Emma Betts podcast episode

•is our destiny pre-determined?

•an inherent need to be needed and nurtured

•the benefit of having pets

•the choice - or otherwise - to have or not have children - and discussing it on a first date

•Otherhood by Melanie Notkin - book

•having a pre-determined number of heatbeats

•eating at Michelin Star restaurants

•turning 60 is the new 40

•death, dying and having all the necessary legal documents

•Molly Carlile and Kerrie Noonan

•Otway Health - a multipurpose service

•managing a healthcare service in a town with massive seasonal population fluctuations

•the importance of regularly seeing a GP

•500,000 Australians have type 2 diabetes but don't actually know

•using Dr Google

•using technology to keep health professionals motivated so they stay in the health sector

•wearable technology such as fitbit

•social media and how much we both love it

•tele-health

•Health Check - radio show/podcast

•if Deb was Prime Minister and Health Minister for a day she would...

•making the electronic record real

•recognising ALL health professionals equally as health advocates

•the importance of kindness

•liking the people you love

•meeting via twitter and our first twitter chat

If you enjoyed this podcast, I would love you to subscr...

In this episode of A Great Recipe for Life I talk to Cathie Reid, one of the Co-Founders of Australia's Epic Group, which comprises Epic Pharmacy, Epic Digital and the Epic Good Foundation.

I met Cathie over a few glasses of wine at a Christmas soirée organised by our mutual friend Anita Heiss. I immediately knew I wanted to talk to her about public health, tech, and the pharmaceutical industry on a future podcast, even though at the time I didn't know what that podcast would look like.

Cathie has been recognised with a slew of business awards including being inducted into the Australian Businesswomen's Hall of Fame in 2015, and being named one of the Top 100 Women of Influence by the Australian Financial Review in 2013.

She is a true tech geek, a keen adopter of technology, was part of the original Google Glass Explorer program and is currently fascinated by the role tech can play in delivering innovative solutions to the healthcare sector. She also loves shoes and is a prolific reader.

You can find Cathie on her personal blog www.cathiereid.com, at Epic Pharmacy and at Epic Good Foundation.

You can follow Cathie on twitter and Instagram.

What we discussed

•going out of your comfort zone

•the importance of having good health

•getting around with a crutches and a moon boot for four months

•being part of the Google Glass Explorer program

•shoes

•being signed up to the Virgin Galactic Future Astronauts program

•working in the pharmacy industry

•how pharmacies can make a difference to people's health

•the perception that natural medicine is safe and side-effect free

•starting Epic Pharmacy with her husband (then fiancé) in 1998

•working with her husband

•commuting between Brisbane and Perth for four years, with young kids at home in Brisbane

•chocolate cake for breakfast

•the future of healthcare and the opportunity for a revolution

•healthcare and technology and the ability to blend known and unknown data

•can wearables help reverse the increase of non-communicable, lifestyle related disease?

•starting the Epic Good Foundation

•sponsoring Hawthorn Football Club and the Hawthorn Indigenous Program

•the importance of connecting sport with health

•sponsoring women's sport

•becoming a Director of Brisbane Lions AFL

•favourite books and the MS Readathon

•and of course we mention the fabulous Anita Heiss and her excellent books :)

If you enjoyed this podcast, I would love you to subscribe on iTunes or

In this episode of A Great Recipe for Life I talk to Emma Betts, melanoma patient and author of Dear Melanoma.

Emma is one of the most remarkable people I've met. When she was 22 years old, and living overseas, she was diagnosed with Stage 4 Melanoma and given three months to live. Today, two years later, and thanks to a clinical trial, she is living every day as much as she can.

Emma's story is particularly meaningful to me, as just over two years ago I was diagnosed with a Stage 2 Melanoma. What was particularly frightening was being told if I had waited to have my skin checked, then it most likely would have become Stage 4 within weeks, which would have given me a life expectation of months.

What shocked me the most about Emma's story, is that melanoma is the #1 killer of people in their 20s. Emma is incredibly open with her story, and I'm so grateful to her. While we laughed a lot while recording this, I definitely shed more than a few tears while editing it.

 

I hope you enjoy Emma's story, and if you only take one thing away, please get your skin checked. In fact, if you haven't had your skin checked in over a year, pick up the phone and call your GP RIGHT NOW. Before you read any further. It's a phone call that could save your life (it saved mine). 

 [bctt tweet="Everyone assumes you can just cut out a melanoma and you'll be fine. That isn't the case. - Emma Betts #podcast"]

I was horrified to learn that sunscreen 30+ means it works 30 times more than your body naturally looks after itself. And as a redhead with white skin, my body doesn't have a lot of self-protection. This means 30 times of not much isn't much, which explains why I have been sunburnt often when wearing sunscreen. WOW. That was eye-opening. In a really bad way.

[bctt tweet="It's kind of a cool cancer to have as everyone is talking about melanoma - Emma Betts #podcast"]

You can find Emma at her fabulous blog Dear Melanoma, and you can support her business at Love Emma.

You can connect with Emma on Facebook.

If you would like to support melanoma research, please make a donation to Melanoma Institute Australia and include the reference "Dear Melanoma".

What we discussed:

•the importance of having a pap smear, prostate checks, mammograms and sex ed at school - "if you're not mature enough to have a pap smear, you're not mature enough to have sex"

•being diagnosed with melanoma

•what causes melanoma - and what doesn't

•believing in science and not fads 

•being sun aware all year round

•weird and ignorant stuff people have said to Emma

•living in the moment

•what a clinical trial is and how to get into one

•melanoma drugs

•raising money for the Melanoma Institute

•communicating why we need to be sun safe

•the Cancer Council's Sun Smart app

•Emma's blog, Dear Melanoma and that we all have the fabulou...

In this episode of A Great Recipe for Life I talk to naturopath Alisha Lynch, also known as Naughty Naturopath Mum.

Alisha Lynch, aka Naughty Naturopath Mum, is a naturopath who inspires people to help keep themselves and their families healthy with good choices in food, nutrition, herbs, Australian Bush Flower Essences, natural medicine and stress relief. 

While she focuses on eating foods that are unprocessed and as close to their natural state as possible she has been known to drink a cheeky glass or two of wine and has a love of chocolate and cheese. She keeps things honest as we are not perfect beings and we need to make mistakes to learn, and occasionally be 'naughty' as balance is the most important thing to achieve, emotionally and physically.

We have a very frank conversation about a range of health issues, with Alisha sharing her struggles with post natal depression and taking prescription medication.

Alisha and I met at a book launch few years ago and discovered we had a huge amount in common. Since then she has become one of my dearest friends, and I'm really happy to be able to share some of her story with you.

One of the topics we discuss is postnatal depression. If you believe you or a loved one has antenatal or postnatal depression or anxiety please seek professional help - in Australia this is offered by your GP, as well as organisations such as Beyond Blue.

You can find Alisha and read her blog at Naughty Naturopath Mum.

You can connect with Alisha on Facebook and Instagram.

What we discussed:

•coming up with the name Naughty Naturopath Mum

•judging people on their looks

•health professionals who don't look "perfect"

•struggling with post natal depression

•female hormones

•getting pregnant while breastfeeding

•stigma attached to mental health and depression

•menopause and that it can last for TEN YEARS (I'm still gobsmacked and horrified by this!)

•increase of type 2 diabetes

•impact of cortisol on weight gain/loss

•supporting women in health

•Australian Bush Flower Essences

•the rise of stress and anxiety in our lives

•winning the AusMumpreneur Rising Star Award and the positive impact on her business since then

If you enjoyed this podcast, I would love you to subscribe on iTunes or Stitcher or via the podcast app on your smartphone.

If you REALLY loved it, please leave me a rating and review on iTunes.

Lachlan Scott is one of my favourite people - and yes, it's largely because his award winning bakery Flour & Chocolate makes the BEST sourdough and croissants in Brisbane, AND I can walk there! Plus, he is just a really great guy who loves his family and good food.

I think Lachlan and his wife Kylie have one of best how-I-started-my-business stories I've ever heard. 

As well as making sensational sourdough bread, he also makes many other sensational sweet and savoury treats that are beloved by the many Brisbane food lovers who can be seen lining up out the door every weekend. 

We recorded this episode in the bakery, and no, you won't hear me chomping down on chocolate raspberry cake (my favourite sweet food he makes), as it was technically closed and there were no baked goodies! Talk about poor timing!

If you are in Brisbane, definitely pop in for a visit.  

You can find Lachlan at Flour & Chocolate, 621 Wynnum Road, Morningside (Brisbane).  

You can connect with Lachlan on Facebook, twitter and Instagram.

Some of the topics we discussed:

•becoming an apprentice at the age of 15 and moving to the Gold Coast from Pittsworth, a small town in Queensland

•deciding to open 5 days a week vs 7

•challenges and the inherent problems of being an apprentice

•using real ingredients vs pre-mix

•going from living in a town with 2,500 people to working in an organisation with 2,500 people!

•the organic certification process

•the real cost of cheap ingredients (and our shared distaste for compound chocolate and margarine)

•the impact of seasonality on the flavour of food - such as spring lamb

•winning $20,000 and opening Flour & Chocolate

•taking opportunities when they present

•going from earning $86 on the first day of trade to having 17 staff on Christmas Eve

•giving food away to help build your name and business

•the price of supermarket bread 

•the importance of taking holidays

•having "theme" days

•vegemite croissants (!!)

If you enjoyed this podcast, I would love you to subscribe on iTunes or Stitcher or via the podcast app on your smartphone.

If you REALLY loved it, I would love you to leave me a rating and review on iTunes.

In this episode of A Great Recipe for Life I talk to Amanda Reboul, also known as The Truffle Lady and The Bubble Diva.

Amanda and I crossed paths many years ago through a combination of meeting via twitter and meeting through a few mutual friends in the food world. She is one of Australia's leading experts on champagne (tough gig!), and is passionate about educating people about what champagne is (sparkling wine from Champagne in France) and what it isn't (sparking wine from anywhere else).

She grew up in Brisbane, but fell in love with a Frenchman when she was 21, and moved with him to France and then Japan, having three kids along the way. Amanda moved back to Brisbane with her family about ten years ago, and runs The Truffle Man, a business her husband started, and is now also educating as many people as she can about champagne.

We recorded this interview at Amanda's home, with a glass of champagne in hand. For some unknown reason the audio isn't the best, and an echo pops up part way through when I'm speaking - my apologies for that. I'm not really sure what happened! But will put it down to recording with champagne, and being a newbie podcaster who is trying new things!

You can find Amanda at Tasting the Stars and The Truffle Man and find out about her tour to Champagne here.

You can connect with Amanda on Facebook, twitter and Instagram.

Some of the topics we discussed:

•growing up in a tee-total family

•falling in love with the French culture - and a Frenchman

•celebrating with food and wine

•eating meals at the table

•conversations while doing the dishes

•champagne and Champagne

•changing her blog name

•tasting champagne for the first time

•serendipity

•living in rural Japan and having older Japanese ladies thinking she was a prostitute because she was white

•being a finalist in the Vin du Champagne Awards

•restaurant reviews that are unnecessarily cruel - Amanda's article

If you enjoyed this podcast, please subscribe on iTunes or Stitcher. I would also appreciate you leaving me a rating and review on iTunes.