Nutritional yeast
What is it?
Nutritional Yeast flakes (also referred to, lovingly, as Nooch) are a natural food grown on molasses. A lot of people associate yeast with something that can cause problems for our guts, as many people have candida overgrowth in today’s society, but nutritional yeast is an inactive yeast of the genus Saccharomyces cerevisiae, entirely free from Candida albicans yeast. When the yeast is ready, it is deactivated with heat and then harvested, washed, dried and packaged.
Why would you use it?
Because it tastes SO good! It has a cheesy, nutty flavour, which I am just obsessed with!
It is high in fibre and is also a really good naturally occurring source of zinc and several B vitamins, including:
B1 (thiamin) which is important for nervous system, brain and heart health
B2 (riboflavin) which is vital for the body’s energy supplies
B3 (niacin) which every part of your body needs to function properly
B6 (pyridoxine) which is essential to protein, fat and carbohydrate metabolism and the creation of red blood cells and neurotransmitters,
B5 (pantothenic acid) which is important for our bodies to properly use carbohydrates, proteins, and lipids and for healthy skin, AND
Often B12 (cobalamin) is added, which many plant based eaters are deficient in, and which plays an essential role in the production of your red blood cells and DNA, as well as the proper functioning of your nervous system
How do you use it?
Everywhere! My favourite ways though are:
With sea salt + extra virgin olive oil massaged into kale and dehydrated - cheesy kale crisps for the win!
In soups - yes!
In homemade creamy cheese sauces with brown rice pasta - oh wow!
And most often in hempesan, which we sprinkle on MANY of our meals! You can find the recipe here.
In conclusion
So don’t hesitate. If you don’t own any, get some. If you do and it is shoved to the back of your cupboard, start playing. You can thank me later!
Find me on Instagram at @rochelle.a.hubbard You can join me on Telegram here - I am LOVING it over there.