US First Lady Michelle Obama decides to include recipes of women from northern Israeli city in her national health campaign
The cooking of Shula, Hannah, Yulia, Doris, Tzipi and their friends from the northern Israeli city of Nazareth Illit is loved by anyone who has ever entered their kitchen. In fact, their food gained such popularity that it has even reached the White House.
A book of recipes from the kitchens of the different denominations these women come from will be included in the national health campaign of US First Lady Michelle Obama, “Let’s Move!”
It all began in an empowerment workshop for women in Nazareth Illit’s southern neighborhood, held in cooperation with JCD Israel’s Ashalim association, a non-profit organization dedicated to the planning and development of services for children and youth at risk and their families.
“We were a group of 12 women from different denominations, and every week one of us would present her kitchen and cook food she learned from her grandmother and mother. I, for example, brought the mujaddara (lentils and rice) my mother taught me to make,” says Mazalit Kleinerman, a mother of three.
“During the first meeting, the group cooked a root vegetable stew, and each of the women connected to her roots. Later, the women came in for a personal conversation and opened up to each other,” says Efrat Zohar-Levkovitz, a chef and the workshop’s instructor.
Several months later, Ashalim decided to put together a booklet containing the recipes written by the group of women from Nazareth Illit.
“It was very important for us to upgrade the recipes from the health aspect, so we added the nutritive values. The booklet was translated into English, and we reached the ‘Let’s Move!’ program of Michelle Obama, who expressed an interest in our program,” says Anat Penso, head of the interdisciplinary unit at Ashalim.
