Nutritional Yeast?

[gautamn504]

I would welcome ideas on how Nutritional Yeast can be incorporated into a daily diet.
Regards
Gautam

[jodi f.]

I thought I'd never learn to like nutritional yeast and because of this, I've never incorporated it into any complicated dishes. Who wants to go through all that work for a bad tasting dish? That was my attitude at the time.

True to what we all learn at Bauman, it took several tries before I decided I liked it, and not I can't seem to get enough of it. Here's how I like it:

In protein smoothies---just 1 Tbs. I'll usually add a little maple syrup, too, because I don't like it in smoothies THAT much.

I really like it in savory dishes. I make a seasoning salt that is composed of 1 cup of yeast, a thin layer on top of very good sea salt, and then a ground-up mixture of almost every savory herb and spice I have around, plus 1 or 2 Tbs. of flax seed. Shake well and use like salt.

I also like it on kale chips, the recipe for which you can find on this forum.

Hope this helps you.

[Missjc]

I really like it sprinkled on pasta or on eggs and greens (my own favorite breakfast)!!!  I have tried several varieties and find some better than others...the ones I like best have a cheesy taste, kind of like parsemean.  Others can be very bitter and not very tasty.  Most recently, I have bought my nutritional yeast from the bulk bin at Whole Foods and like it very much.

Jackie!

[doralou]

 I really like it sprinkled on air popped corn with the addition of melted ghee and a little sea salt.  It's also great on baked kale.  Cut dino kale into bite sized pieces and toss with a little melted coconut oil and sea salt, bake in a 400 degree oven for 8-10 minutes.  Take out of oven to cool and sprinkle with 1 T Nutritional yeast.  It gives it a cheesy nutty flavor.  Yum!

[brendar048]

Thank you so much for posting this question.  I just started the Natural Chef program at Bauman and thought I was the only one who had never tried Nutritional Yeast.  I plan on purchasing some today and trying it.

[DanaM]

I love nutritional yeast!

I use it in place of parmesan cheese in pesto. I add it to my home made veggie stocks. I LOVE to sprinkle it on popcorn with some dulse flakes, sea salt, a little butter and a little flax oil.

And last but not least this is a family favorite. My Squash and Sqeeze Recipe. This is an allergy-free version of Mac and Cheese. I served this at the Penngrove Campus' staff meeting a couple of months ago and it was a huge hit!

Squash and “Squeeze”
Recipe Created by Natural Chef Dana Miller
Serves:  4 - 6
Ingredients
For the Squash:
•   1 Spaghetti Squash
•   1 tablespoon olive oil

For the sauce:
•   ½ cup sunflower seeds, soaked overnight (If you can tolerate nuts you may substitute cashews)
•   2 ½ cups water
•   ¼ cup light olive oil
•   ½ of a yellow onion, minced
•   1 clove of garlic, minced
•   1 ½ tablespoons arrowroot
•   1 rounded tablespoon sesame tahini
•   ¾ cup nutritional yeast
•   1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
•   ¼ cup lemon juice
•   1 ½ teaspoons sea salt, to taste
•   ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
•   ¼ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
•   ½ teaspoon paprika
•   ½ teaspoon turmeric

For the topping:
•   1 cup Gluten-Free Bread with ¼ cups fresh sage run through food processor to make breadcrumbs.
•   10-12 grape tomatoes, halved

Directions
To prepare Spaghetti Squash:
1.   Preheat oven to 400˚F.
2.   Cut squash in half, deseed, rub cut side with olive oil and bake on a parchment lined cookie sheet in a for 45 minutes.
3.   Use a fork to scrape the “noodles” from the squash. Set aside.

While Squash is cooking:
1.   Make your sunflower milk by blending the water and drained sunflower seeds together well. Strain out the pulp using a nut milk bag or strainer. Set aside.
2.   In a medium saucepan, heat the olive oil over medium heat, sauté the onion until translucent, about 5 minutes.
3.   Add the garlic and cook for another 30 seconds.
4.   Stir in the arrowroot (I like to use a whisk to do this). Cook and stir for about 10 seconds, then slowly add in the sunflower milk, whisking to blend the arrowroot paste and milk. Bring the mixture to a bubble (it will thicken as it heats) then reduce the heat to low.
5.   Add the sesame tahini, nutritional yeast, Dijon mustard, lemon juice, sea salt, black pepper, nutmeg, paprika and turmeric. Mix well with a whisk. Remove from heat and set aside.

To assemble the casserole:
1.   Preheat the oven to 350˚ F.
2.   Place the cooked spaghetti squash into a 6-cup baking dish.
3.   Pour the “cheesy” sauce over the squash and gently combine. Sprinkle the top of the casserole with the gluten-free bread crumbs and halved grape tomatoes.
4.   Bake for about 25 minutes, until heated through and bubbling.