Kendall Scott, a holistic health and nutrition coach, will be happy to know that, because of her, there are at least two more people — me and my partner Roger — now eating what she refers to as “the planet’s singularly most nutritious whole food.”

Within minutes of leaving her class last week on immune-boosting foods at Central Maine Medical Center, I found myself in the seaweed aisle at Axis Foods, picking up my own personal sushi mat and my very first package of roasted nori. More on that later.

Scott’s impetus to study and then teach healthy living habits came three years ago after receiving a diagnosis of Hodgkin’s lymphoma. She underwent treatment, made dramatic changes to her personal diet, left a corporate environment of sales and marketing to study holistic health, and today feels better than ever. As part of her work, she often offers workshops through the Patrick Dempsey Center for Cancer, Hope and Healing. She also works with individuals — some of whom have had cancer themselves and others who just want to be proactive and make precautionary lifestyle changes — by helping them make similar changes in their diets.

She shared three recipes with us that all have one thing in common: sea vegetables . . . a term for what is also known as seaweed.

Because she looks at things holistically, Scott began the class with an overview of non-dietary factors she considers crucial to a healthy lifestyle:

— Water: Drink enough water to help your immune system function properly by flushing out toxins (on how much to drink, she recommends taking your body weight, divide by two, and drink at least that many ounces of water per day).

— Rest: Get enough sleep, or at least plenty of rest and down time. This helps your body recuperate and helps your cells rebuild.

— Stress: Pay attention to how much stress you have in your life and how it affects you. Try to eliminate as much as possible, learn how to manage it and try to live calmly.

When it comes to food, she prefers to focus on good foods to add to your diet, but she briefly mentioned a few she would like us to stay away from: Anything processed (think food from a box or can) — because such foods are usually refined and offer very little nutrition, she said — and refined sugars and sweeteners, which she considers “really harmful to our immune systems.” And when possible, she recommends people try to cut down on animal products, basing her suggestion on research (see her reading list) showing a direct correlation between low- and no-meat diets and better health.

“The most-missing ‘good’ food in the American diet,” she said, “is dark, leafy vegetables. Definitely find ways to add them in to your diet.” She typically recommends that 50 percent of your diet be fruits and vegetables, weighted on the vegetable side, with 25 percent coming from whole grains (such as brown rice, barley, corn or quinoa). The remaining 25 percent should be made up of quality proteins, such as nuts, seed, beans or lentils – all plant-based.

“It’s very important that you have a healthy gut. It’s a really important factor in fighting off cancer,” she said. “If your digestive system is off balance, your immune system won’t be strong.” Having a strong immune system, she said, can help keep mutant cancer cells from growing. She said signs that your digestive system is out of balance include bloating, acid reflux, diarrhea, gas or stomach aches. Although supplemental probiotic products are available, she prefers a client get them naturally — eating everything from miso and tempeh (fermented soybean products) to sauerkraut and kefir (a fermented milk product that resembles yogurt).

She noted that more and more people are finding dairy and wheat (gluten) products cause inflammation in their bodies. Following her diet suggestions may help.

Once Scott reviewed the above do’s and don’ts, she moved on to her piece de resistance, sea vegetables. Sea vegetables are low in calories, but are very nutrient-dense, she said. “Look for ways to incorporate seaweed into your diet,” she said. “Any little bit makes a difference.”

Two of the easiest ways to do so is to chop up pieces of soaked sea vegetables, she said, and throw them into soups, salads or even cooked eggs. Or buy one of the shaker containers and sprinkle seaweed flakes on top of almost anything you’re eating. You can now buy seaweed blends, and even one mixture that includes garlic.

She showed the group how to twirl up some sushi rolls, using just rice and vegetables, urging participants to experiment with any vegetables they like or have on hand. She usually uses raw vegetables, but loves to sometimes add cooked sweet potato. She also said it’s easy to add high quality raw fish, but said the less adventurous might start with cooked or smoked salmon, or perhaps cooked shrimp.

When samples were passed around, nearly everyone in the class had positive comments. Participant Claire Roger-Anctil of Greene laughingly said between bites, “I can taste the flavor of the sea!” referring to the nori (seaweed) wrapper.

Because explaining how to make a sushi roll in print is a bit challenging, I recommend you go to www.sunjournal.com to see Scott demonstrate. From my experimental batch, I found my first one to be a bit frumpy and rough around the edges. I concluded I had used a little too much brown rice. By the third roll, I’m happy to report, my technique had greatly improved. Just for fun, I served my little sushi pinwheels with a choice of soy sauce and Thai peanut sauce, both of which were well received. Perhaps the most important pointer: Use a very sharp knife when you go to cut the sushi roll into slices. I found dampening it with water really helped make a clean cut.

Friends and family beware: I’ll be exploring other seaweed adventures once I’ve perfected those sushi rolls.

For more information, go to www.kendallscottwellness.com.

A sea vegetable for every occasion

Arame: Mild and sweet, lacy and wiry; throw into salads, stir-fries or soup.

Dulse: A chewy, soft seaweed. A stronger flavor, it is often sold in a shaker; sprinkle on anything you desire to season, or use to make a salad dressing.

Hiziki/Hijiki: A strong-flavored sea vegetable that looks like wiry, black pasta; sprinkle in salad, stir-fries or on top of baked squash.

Kombu/Kelp: Usually dark green in color; sometimes sold as a soup flavoring. Add a 6-inch piece to a soup or while cooking up a pot of beans; it helps tenderize and will add minerals to your dish.

Nori: The purple-black variety of seaweed that turns green when toasted and is the one we’re most familiar with for its use in sushi rolls. Usually sold in flat sheets.

Wakame: May be sold in strips or sheets like kombu; used in miso soup.

Alaria: In dried form, use as a snack – saute in pan with sesame oil, and bake bite-sized pieces in the oven for 5 minutes.

Cookbooks

When asked for cookbook recommendations, Kendall Scott said two of her favorites include:

* “Greens Glorious Greens! More Than 140 Ways to Prepare All Those Great-Tasting, Super-Healthy, Beautiful Leafy Greens” by Johnna Albi and Catherine Walthers

* “The Self Healing Cookbook: A Macrobiotic Primer for Healing Body, Mind and Moods with Whole, Natural Foods” by Kristina Turner

* She also likes to refer people to “The China Study” by T. Colin Campbell. Based on a Cornell University-Oxford University survey that studied the relationship between mortality rates and the diets and lifestyles of 6,500 people in 65 rural counties in China over 20 years, the book shows a direct correlation between better health and lower consumption of animal products.

Nori fun facts

A sweet, mild-tasting sea vegetable cultivated off the environmentally protected western shore of Ise Bay, Japan. The finest grade, sushi-quality nori is hand harvested and naturally sun-dried. Usually sold in convenient, already-toasted sheets and ready to roll for sushi, nori rolls and rice balls. It is the most well-known and popular seaweed worldwide. Very low sodium, fat- and cholesterol-free, and a good source of vitamin C.

Recipes

Seaweed Cabbage Carrot Salad

Ingredients:

3/4 to 1 cup arame or similar seaweed (soak in bowl with water for 15 minutes and rinse)

1 to 2 large carrots, grated

1 small or 2/3 large red cabbage, shredded

2 cloves garlic, minced

Approximately 1 inch ginger root, grated (peel off skin before grating)

4 scallions, chopped

2 cups raw greens (kale or collard greens), chopped

3 tablespoons tamari (soy sauce)

2 tablespoons toasted sesame oil

2 tablespoons lemon juice

1/4 cup toasted sesame seeds

Combine seaweed, carrot, cabbage, garlic, ginger, scallions and greens in bowl and toss with tamari, oil and lemon juice. Sprinkle sesame seeds on top.

Miso Soup

Ingredients:

4 to 5 cups water

1- to 2-inch strip of wakame, rinsed and soaked

1 to 2 cups thinly sliced vegetables of your choice (mushrooms, carrots, kale, cabbage, daikon radish, bok choy)

2 to 3 teaspoons miso

2 scallions, finely chopped

Soak wakame for five minutes. Discard soaking water or use on houseplants for a boost of minerals.

Place water and wakame in a soup pot and bring to a boil. Add root vegetables first and simmer gently for 5 minutes or until tender.

Add leafy vegetables and simmer for 2 to 3 minutes.

Remove about 1/2 cup of liquid from pot and dissolve miso into it. Return it to the pot.

Reduce heat to very low; do not boil or simmer miso broth. Allow soup to cook 2 to 3 minutes.

Garnish with scallions and serve.

Simple Sushi Rolls

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups of cooked brown rice, cooled to room temperature.

1 package of nori seaweed sheets

Assorted vegetables, cut into thin strips (cucumbers, carrots, scallions, fresh basil leaves, zucchini, kale, avocado, red or green pepper, radishes or radish sprouts, etc.)

Directions: We recommend you consult the instructions below while watching Kendall Scott demonstrate how to make a sushi roll at sunjournal.com/makesushi.

Place one sheet of nori on a clean bamboo sushi mat, shiny side down, with slats in mat running horizontally. Using damp fingers or a spoon, gently press a thin layer of rice (approximately 1/2 to 3/4 cup) onto the nori, leaving approximately a one-inch border with no rice at the top (the side farthest from you).

Arrange strips of the first vegetable horizontally across rice, starting 1 inch from side nearest you. Follow with two or three more vegetables, arranged in the same manner.

Beginning with the edge nearest you, lift mat up with your thumbs, holding filling in place with your fingers, and begin rolling tightly, tugging edge of mat farthest from you to tighten. Continue to roll sushi, peeling mat slowly away from the nori as you roll, until the unriced nori edge seals the roll. If the edge does not seal, use your fingers to dot some water along the edge and reseal. Transfer roll, seam side down, to a cutting board. Make second log in same manner, and then cut each log crosswise into six to 10 pieces with a sharp, dampened, thin-bladed knife. If desired, serve with wasabi paste, soy sauce, ginger or peanut sauce.

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