Batch cooking, grief & going viral: Helen Hopkins on midlife resilience

Batch cooking, grief & going viral: Helen Hopkins on midlife resilience

This week, Lise is joined by Helen Hopkins, the Mealtime Maverick, batch cooking expert and debut author of Mix and Match Batch, published by Penguin. Helen's story is one of those that sounds almost too much to be true: going viral on Instagram, landing a book deal and navigating perimenopause and deep grief, all at the same time. For any midlife woman who has ever felt like she's holding everything together with fraying string, this conversation will feel like a warm hand on the shoulder - coupled with a fridge full of delicious food! In this episode, join Lise and discover: * How Helen's Instagram account grew from 4,000 followers to over 80,000 in just ten weeks, after a single batch cooking reel racked up 3.1 million views, and why that viral moment arrived at the most emotionally complex point of her life * Why Helen abandoned traditional freezer-based batch cooking in favour of fresh fridge batching, and how spending roughly one hour in the kitchen can produce five to six flexible meals for a family of four for between £35 and £45 * The emotional thread running through the cookbook itself: why recipes for stew and sloppy joes carry her parents with her, and what it means to have created something her late father, a lifelong reader, would have been proud of Quote of the episode "Cooking is about putting ingredients together, making something delicious, sharing it with people that you love, and having the opportunity to connect." - Helen Hopkins Useful links * Helen on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mealtime.maverick/ [https://www.instagram.com/mealtime.maverick] * Mix and Match Batch by Helen Hopkins, published by Penguin: available on Amazon [https://www.amazon.co.uk/Mix-Match-Batch-Helen-Hopkins/dp/1405978783/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1047DUAUAOPNG&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.ZpzUoW1uTYyatKhPYB_ogw.uJidUIemLno41SOYdi1A4wmgO2bs1j-FQFsQj3JUDoM&dib_tag=se&keywords=Mix+and+Match+Batch+by+Helen+Hopkins&qid=1779440914&sprefix=mix+and+match+batch+by+helen+hopkins%2Caps%2C125&sr=8-1] and wherever books are sold * WIN a signed copy: Leave a voice message via the link below telling us about your cooking or batching experience, and Helen will gift one lucky listener a signed copy. Be a part of the show: Here's how to get in touch... * Follow the show and get all the links you need on LinkTree [https://linktr.ee/walking_this_way] - https://linktr.ee/walking_this_way * Email us: walkingthisway@hotmail.com * Use the get in touch form HERE [https://tr.ee/r-ePylKE8H] - https://tr.ee/r-ePylKE8H * Send us a voice message HERE [https://www.speakpipe.com/WalkingThisWay]- https://www.speakpipe.com/WalkingThisWay Produced by The Good Studio [https://thegoodstudio.co.uk/] - thegoodstudio.co.uk

Out and About - Walking in the Lake District with Julia and Ramble Worldwide

Lise is in the Lake District on a walking weekend with Ramble Worldwide, Hassness House and Ageism Is Never In Style. She's joined by walk leader Julia Williams for an evening amble to Buttermere, the evening before the walking properly starts. It's nearly 9:30 at night. The sun has just slipped behind the hills, and Lise and Julia are walking down to the lake, talking about what walking does for people. Julia has been leading walks for Ramble Worldwide for 12 years, entirely as a volunteer. She's taken groups to New Zealand, the Alps, Costa Rica, Madeira, the Tour du Mont Blanc and the Camino. She really knows what it means when someone says a walk changed their life. And Lise shares her own walking story: travelling the world for a year with her three children and walking the final stretch of the Camino with no sleeping bags, no advance bookings, and nothing to think about but the next step. Join Lise and discover... * Why Ramble Worldwide is a not-for-profit and what that means for the walking community * How Julia went from a career in the real world to leading groups across six continents as a volunteer * The unexpected moments that remind you why getting people outdoors really matters * Why a well-organised walk is harder than it looks * Lise's family Camino: three kids, no plan and walking home from Japan via northern Spain With thanks to all the brilliant people at: * Ramble Worldwide — www.rambleworldwide.co.uk [https://www.rambleworldwide.co.uk/] * Hassness House — www.rambleworldwide.co.uk/hassness-house [https://www.rambleworldwide.co.uk/hassness-house] * Ageism Is Never In Style — www.ageismisneverinstyle.com [https://www.ageismisneverinstyle.com/] Quote of the Episode "As I'm walking, I feel like I'm walking away from the pain and towards a new life." - One of Julia's Camino guests, shared by Julia Williams Here's how to get in touch... * Follow the show and get all the links you need on LinkTree [https://linktr.ee/walking_this_way] - https://linktr.ee/walking_this_way * Email us: walkingthisway@hotmail.com * Use the get in touch form HERE [https://tr.ee/r-ePylKE8H] - https://tr.ee/r-ePylKE8H * Send us a voice message HERE [https://www.speakpipe.com/WalkingThisWay]- https://www.speakpipe.com/WalkingThisWay Produced by The Good Studio [https://thegoodstudio.co.uk/] - thegoodstudio.co.uk

Powering through perimenopause with friendship and swimming - with Lorraine Candy

This week, Lise is joined by Lorraine Candy, co-host of the award-winning podcast Postcards from Midlife, a journalist who has edited some of Britain's biggest magazines, and a mother of four who is refreshingly honest about what's actually going on in her life - from HRT and perimenopause to friendships and swimming. In this episode, she and Lise dig into the real challenges facing midlife women today, the ongoing debate over HRT, the importance of female friendship and how moving every day - and taking on the occasional swimming challenge - can have a transformative impact on your health and wellbeing. In this episode, join Lise and discover: * Why two-thirds of women are wrongly prescribed antidepressants during perimenopause  * The shocking statistic that only around 10% of women who would benefit from HRT are actually getting it * What the "anticipatory load" is, why it's neurologically exhausting, and why it falls so disproportionately on women * Lorraine's honest journey through perimenopause, from night terrors and panic attacks to finding what actually worked * Why female friendship isn't a luxury in midlife; according to the research, it might literally save your life. Quote of the episode: "If you've got a choice between career and ambition, or helping a friend, or being with a friend, or being good - choose the friendship. Because that is the grit that sees you through." - Lorraine Candy Useful links: * Lorraine's podcast: https://www.postcardsfrommidlife.com/ [https://www.postcardsfrommidlife.com/] * Lorraine's books [https://www.amazon.co.uk/stores/Lorraine-Candy/author/B0929J1C9Z?ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_1&qid=1778162465&sr=8-1&shoppingPortalEnabled=true] * Lorraine's Substack: https://lorrainecandy.substack.com/ [https://lorrainecandy.substack.com/] * Lorraine's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lorrainecandy/ [https://www.instagram.com/lorrainecandy/] * Watergate Bay Hotel: https://watergatebay.co.uk/ [https://watergatebay.co.uk/] Be a part of the show: Here's how to get in touch... * Follow the show and get all the links you need on LinkTree [https://linktr.ee/walking_this_way] - https://linktr.ee/walking_this_way * Email us: walkingthisway@hotmail.com * Use the get in touch form HERE [https://tr.ee/r-ePylKE8H] - https://tr.ee/r-ePylKE8H * Send us a voice message HERE [https://www.speakpipe.com/WalkingThisWay]- https://www.speakpipe.com/WalkingThisWay Produced by The Good Studio [https://thegoodstudio.co.uk/] - thegoodstudio.co.uk

Out and about - Rowing, swimming challenges and dog poo

Recorded in her local graveyard (Richmond Park is off-limits to dogs for three months), Lise is out in the sunshine with Dolly, Sam, Evie, and James, dwelling on time on and in the water! Having rediscovered swimming she's now planning a challenge with a difference, in Lake Geneva. Water aside, there's then the small but important matter of other people's dog poo. Where do you stand? Join Lise and the dogs for: * Gym inspiration - how she's doing a class every other day and has already attempted to push a 150kg sled * Rowing redisocvery - what it's really like to get back on the Thames * A swimming challenge with a difference - and how it was inspired by a podcast guest * Dog poo dilemmas - would you or wouldn't you? Quote of the episode "Ten years ago I did my first triathlon. I swam in a surfing wetsuit with snorkelling goggles, old ladies' breaststroke, pannier bike on the hills. And nothing has ever felt as good as finishing that. Nothing." Here's how to get in touch... * Follow the show and get all the links you need on LinkTree [https://linktr.ee/walking_this_way] - https://linktr.ee/walking_this_way * Email us: walkingthisway@hotmail.com * Use the get in touch form HERE [https://tr.ee/r-ePylKE8H] - https://tr.ee/r-ePylKE8H * Send us a voice message HERE [https://www.speakpipe.com/WalkingThisWay]- https://www.speakpipe.com/WalkingThisWay Produced by The Good Studio [https://thegoodstudio.co.uk/] - thegoodstudio.co.uk

Perimenopause and ADHD, the link no one told us about - with Dr Helen Wall

Have you ever wondered if what you’re experiencing in midlife is more than just perimenopause? If brain fog, overwhelm, emotional dysregulation and sheer exhaustion sound familiar, this episode is going to give you a lot to think about. Lise is joined by Dr Helen Wall: a GP with over 25 years’ experience, a BBC Breakfast and BBC Morning Live regular and one of the UK’s leading voices on women’s hormonal health. Helen has spent years joining the dots between perimenopause and ADHD, and what she’s uncovered will resonate with so many of you. In this episode, join Lise and discover… * Why so many women only discover they have ADHD in midlife, and why that’s not an accident * How our hormones affect the chemical messengers in our brains  * The difference between perimenopause and menopause * What masking really means and the hidden cost it carries * What to do if you’re sitting there thinking ‘is this me?’ Quote of the Episode “These are not women who’ve just suddenly woken up in perimenopause and developed ADHD. These are women who have always had things going on through their lives that never quite fitted – because what they’ve essentially done all their lives is masked.” - Dr Helen Wall Dr Helen Wall * Website: https://tvhealthdoctor.com/ [https://tvhealthdoctor.com/] * LinkedIN: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dr-helen-wall-9b7906235/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/dr-helen-wall-9b7906235/] * Helen's Book, Menopause and ADHD: Out on May 14, preorder HERE [https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/477104/menopause-and-adhd-by-wall-dr-helen/9781785046421] Be a part of the show: Here's how to get in touch... * Follow the show and get all the links you need on LinkTree [https://linktr.ee/walking_this_way] - https://linktr.ee/walking_this_way * Email us: walkingthisway@hotmail.com * Use the get in touch form HERE [https://tr.ee/r-ePylKE8H] - https://tr.ee/r-ePylKE8H * Send us a voice message HERE [https://www.speakpipe.com/WalkingThisWay]- https://www.speakpipe.com/WalkingThisWay Produced by The Good Studio [https://thegoodstudio.co.uk/] - thegoodstudio.co.uk