Good Afternoon friends and Happy Friday! An extra Happy Friday here as it is the last day of Term and those that have been following my blog for a while would know that I am a lover of School Holidays!
A few months ago I discovered and fell in love with Nutritional Yeast. Being dairy and soy free I almost forgot what cheese tasted like until I tried this and WOW what a taste sensation it is when I add it to things like Tuna Mornay, casseroles or simply sprinkle some over veggies. I have mentioned it a few times on my FB page and keep getting asked “what is it” … so I have reached out to two of my trusted friends to give you some ‘official’ information on it. I hope it helps. I buy mine from a health food store or online.
Nutritional Yeast
Information from Abbie – Lee Wright – Nutritionist and Food Technologist
Also known as “nooch”, nutritional yeast is a deactivated yeast that is grown on enriched, purified cane sugar under carefully controlled conditions. Deactivated yeast is a single-celled microorganism named Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Once harvested, it is washed and heat-dried to cause deactivation. The heat-drying process changes the status of the yeast to deactivated and is therefore no longer a “live culture”. Unlike brewers and baking yeast, it cannot be used as leavening agent.
Nutritional yeast is a reliable protein source that contains all of the nine essential amino acids. It is also a good source of B-complex vitamins and many brands are fortified with vitamin B12, which is generally lacking in other plant food sources. It must be noted that vitamin B12 does not occur naturally in the product.
It is low in fat and sodium and is sugar-, dairy- and gluten-free.
Nooch is mostly sold as yellow flakes or as a powder. It is always wise to check different product labels as some brands do add whey (an animal by product) which may influence your choice.
Values vary by brand but on average, 2 tablespoons provide 60 kilocalories, about 5 grams of carbohydrates (4g of which are fibre), and 9grams of protein.
Nutritional Yeast
Information from Alisha Lynch – Naughty Naturopath Mum
Nutritional yeast is a very handy powder to have in your cupboard. It’s gluten free, dairy free and vegan and adds a lovely savoury, sometimes cheesy taste to your dishes. It’s an inactive yeast so it doesn’t act like normal yeasts (think bakers and brewers yeasts) and does not help things ‘rise’ or ferment. So it’s just used for added flavour and nutrients! Adding nutritional yeast to your foods adds protein (2 tblspns equals 9 grams of protein!), Folic acid so it’s especially great for pregnant women, fibre and B12. B12 is essential to energy production so if lacking energy then this is a great addition to your food. B12 is generally only in animal sources like meat and eggs so this is a fabulous vegetarian alternative. There is surprisingly a lot of fibre in this powder also which helps with your gut health and inflammation. I add nutritional yeast to casseroles, most of my slow cooker meals, quiches and savoury slices. You can cook veggies with it, I toss some coconut oil and cauliflower florets into a pan with some nutritional yeast and it’s brilliant to lend that cheesy taste to my cashew nut ‘cheese’. It is even nice sprinkled on popcorn. Very versatile, very healthy and it’s basically nutrient boosting your food!
Here is my Lentil Slice Recipe where I use it … a great recipe for breakfast lunch or dinner!
Wishing you a wonderful weekend full of love, laughter, sunshine, happy memories and GREAT food!
Take Care of You,
Collette x
Nutritional Yeast
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