In 2004, the Breast Friends, ten women from the small town of Foam Lake, Saskatchewan, came together to support each other after two personal losses to breast cancer. What began at the kitchen table as a way to focus their grief and energy in a positive way, has become – six fundraising cookbooks later – a passion and a calling that has raised more than $1 million for cancer programs in Canada, and even into rural Mexico.

The Breast Friends’ most recent cookbook, released in May 2012, is Breast Friends Inspire Health. For this book, the Friends decided to partner with nutritionists at InspireHealth, a BC-based, non-profit integrative cancer care centre, and adapt their recipes to follow nutritional guidelines for the prevention of disease. This was a natural fit, as Breast Friends and InspireHealth had already formed a partnership – some of the proceeds from previous cookbooks were used to bring InspireHealth’s experiential LIFE Program for those newly diagnosed with cancer to Regina and Saskatoon.

“Sitting through these LIFE Programs and hearing the research on the link to nutrition and cancer made us think that it was time to write another cookbook that would fight cancer on two fronts – from the healthy recipes and from the profits from sales,” explains Breast Friends member Patti Hack. A year and a half later, Breast Friends Inspire Health was born. In addition to 300 healthy recipes, the book includes current research about cancer and the link to nutrition, healthy food facts and tips, and inspirational quotes, as well as the personal cancer stories of six Canadian celebrities.

Here we share two inspired recipes we think would make the perfect menu for a laid-back summer lunch or dinner. Check our site again over the summer and into fall for more delicious featured recipes from the book.

Best Friends Inspire Health is available for purchase from breastfriends.ca and inspirehealth.ca.

Fresh Strawberry Daiquiri Mocktail

Ingredients:

2 cups fresh or frozen strawberries, washed and stemmed

2 tablespoons maple syrup

2 tablespoons fresh squeezed lime juice

8-12 ice cubes (depending on if the strawberries are frozen or not)

In a blender, place the strawberries, syrup, lime juice and ice cubes. Blend for 45 seconds. Pour into a brandy snifter or large wine glass. Serves 2.

What’s In It for You?

Mmmm maple. Maple syrup has fewer calories and more minerals than honey and is a healthier substitute for sugar. (But still use it in small quantities.) Maple syrup is a good source of manganese and zinc. Manganese supports your body’s enzymes which are important in producing energy and for antioxidant defenses. (The enzyme called superoxide dismutase, which stops free radical damage to the body, requires manganese to work.)

Salmon Salad with Red Grapefruit

Ingredients:

4 salmon fillets

2 teaspoons cold-pressed (extra virgin) olive oil

1 cup snow peas

4 cups lettuce, washed and dried

4 cups arugula (or use 8 cups lettuce instead)

2 avocados

4 red grapefruit

Dressing:

¼ cup unsweetened grapefruit juice

1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

1 teaspoon unrefined/raw sugar

¼ cup cold-pressed (extra virgin) olive oil

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 tablespoon dill, chopped

Cook salmon on low-medium in oil in preheated skillet for 3-4 minutes on both sides. Cook peas in boiling water for 30 seconds. Drain and rinse with cold water immediately. Divide lettuce and arugula on 4 plates. Peel avocados and cut into small pieces. Peel grapefruit so there is only flesh showing. Cut into segments and save juice for dressing. Place all dressing ingredients in bowl and whisk. Place avocado, grapefruit and peas over greens. Place warm salmon on top and drizzle with dressing before serving.

Keren Brown is a passionate advocate for the integration of effective natural therapies into the conventional health care system, as a means to emphasize prevention and minimize chronic disease. She was co-founder and Executive Director of the Holistic Health Research Foundation of Canada, which, during its seven years of operation, raised nearly $2 million for holistic health education and research, and funded more than 20 university-based research studies.  A writer and editor with a communications consulting background, Keren is the President of GoGreenInside^® and the publisher of gogreeninside.com.