In life, as with cooking, timing can make all the difference. Which explains why Beverly resident and breast cancer survivor Ellyn Caruso timed the release of her new cookbook, “Forkfuls of Flavor,” during October, which has been designated Breast Cancer Awareness Month.
“My book is intended to help breast cancer survivors become thrivers through healthy eating and lifestyle choices,” said Caruso, who was diagnosed at age 55 with an aggressive form of breast cancer in 2016. Her health challenge came seven years after the disease claimed the life of her younger sister, Susan, in 2009.
The sisters are among the growing ranks of women touched by the disease.
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In 2023, 288,494 new breast cancers were reported in females in the United States, and 43,402 females in the United States died from breast cancer in 2024, according to latest information from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
To help avoid breast cancer and increase chances of survival after a diagnosis, CDC recommends maintaining a healthy weight, being physically active, eliminating or reducing alcohol and getting regular screenings.
Caruso said that changing her diet to include more fresh ingredients, creating her cookbook and walking with her father around Chicago’s Beverly neighborhood helped her to heal and regain her footing.
“I felt like I was stepping back into my life,” she said. “My dad was in his 80s at the time. The walking was helping him too.”
The principal of CarusoPR, a public relations and marketing communications firm, Caruso chose to keep working through her treatments. She shared news of her health challenge with just a few close family and friends at first, she said.
She also realized it was important to decompress. “This whole thing caused me to think, ‘Now, how can I do things better?’” she said.
Based on advice from healthcare professionals, Caruso scaled back her stress and cut down on caffeine. She had always enjoyed walking and committed to getting more exercise.
She also decided to incorporate more fresh foods in her cooking, which, she said, “has always been my passion.”
Her husband, Carmen Caruso, an attorney, is of Italian heritage. Their trips to the Mediterranean inspired her to develop the book’s 90 recipes which celebrate the Mediterranean diet.
The couple spent significant time touring open air markets in Italy, which, Caruso said, were loaded with seafood and fresh produce. “I’ve always enjoyed cooking, but I started to look at a grocery like a farmers market,” she said.
With women and health top of mind, Caruso also served on the board of the Rush MD Anderson Cancer Center Patient and Family Advisory Council as well as the Professional Women’s Club of Chicago.
She told doctors and nurse practitioners who were treating her about wanting to create a Mediterranean-inspired cookbook that could help people make important life changes.
“They’d say, ‘You need to do this book. We tell everyone to do these things, but not everybody does it,’” Caruso said.
Though Caruso is not a trained chef, her book follows American Cancer Society nutritional guidelines.
She also joined the International Association of Culinary Professionals, which offers an instructional class on standard formats and terminology for ingredients and cooking procedures. The class, she said, helped her write down her recipes so that they could be easily understood.
“I needed to learn this because I didn’t always follow recipes,” she said, “Most of the time I just started cooking.”
Realizing that the time it takes to cook discourages many people from eating healthy meals caused Caruso to streamline recipes to shorten cooking times, she said.
Rather than baking deep-dish casseroles for hours, the book suggests using sheet pans to reduce cooking time to 30 minutes. It also suggests baking fish at higher temperatures to both cut time and seal in juices for better texture and flavor.
Touting nutrient-dense foods — seafood and lean meats, vegetables, fruits, legumes, grains, olive oils, fresh herbs and fresh lemon — the book also suggests contemporary combinations like brussels sprouts with baked red grapes, and spiral cut sweet potatoes with spices and pecans.
Along with tips for creating a Mediterranean pantry, shopping, menu-pairing, the book also promotes healthy lifestyle habits such as getting regular exercise and enough rest.
Beyond that, Caruso said, “For healing, you have to stay connected and involved. You have to engage with people.”
Following her own advice, Caruso enlisted family, friends and local businesses in her book project.
Her sister Susan’s children helped research foods of the Mediterranean and promote the book.
Caruso also asked longtime friends and fellow breast cancer survivors to test recipes. Two are featured in the book and in a related promotional video.
Joan Each Rowan, owner of Everything’s Relative Salon & Day Spa in Beverly, has styled the hair of Caruso and her mother for decades. She’s also what Caruso calls a breast cancer “thriver.”
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For the book, Rowan prepared Caruso’s Italian braciole — flank steak, stuffed with goat cheese, spinach and other vegetables. The dish normally requires searing and baking for hours, but Rowan said Caruso’s modified recipe cuts prep time dramatically.
“It didn’t take any time at all — you brown the meat and throw it in the oven,” Rowan said in a recent phone interview. “You take off your work shoes and relax ‘til it’s ready.”
Rowan also set up a display in her salon featuring Caruso’s book. “In just two weeks we sold 10 books,” Rowan said.
Local family-owned grocery County Fair Foods also stepped in to help promote the book, holding a recent book signing. “Except for octopus, all the book’s ingredients can be found at County Fair,” Caruso said.
Caruso will be signing copies of her book from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., Oct. 24, at Orleander & Artesian, 9911 S. Walden Parkway.
Caruso established Thyme & Zest Press to publish “Forkfuls of Flavor” as well as additional titles, she said. She also arranged for her recipes to be prepared and photographed by a professional food photography studio and for the book to be designed by a local graphic artist.
Caruso said she expects “Forkfuls of Flavor” to begin appearing in select local bookstores throughout the country. Meanwhile, it’s already available on Amazon and at Target and Walmart.
Susan DeGrane is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.