This is something that I discovered when attending a vegan, raw food ‘cooking’ course in Cape Town a few months ago. For all the lactose-intolerant or dairy-intolerant little ones out there, this is one of the best ways to add a cheesy flavour to any savoury dish for your family.
Essentially, nutritional yeast flakes is the deactivated extract from yeast, and is harvested and dried to form a flakey ingredient that can be easily sprinkled into recipes. Because the yeast has been deactivated, there is no chance of nutritional yeast flakes contributing to any of the inflammatory issues that are associated with the commonly known ‘bad’ yeast Candida Albicans. In other words, nutritional yeast flakes offers none of the negative side-effects of other yeast strains, only goodness!
Each serving contains a powerful punch of vitamins, minerals and proteins: it contains nine out of the eighteen essential amino acids that our bodies cannot produce, a daily dose of vitamin B, and a solid serving of fibre, iron and zinc. If you are worried that your child isn’t getting in enough protein, this is a smart and sneaky way to get that added boost of protein in!
For those who won’t combine meat and milk for religious or personal reasons, this is an excellent way to ensure that the amazing recipe you found doesn’t need to taste all that different to the way it was intended.
This is a truly brilliant way to create ‘cheesy’ dishes with an ingredient that is soya-free, dairy-free, gluten-free and low sodium. Sprinkle it into sauces, marinades, crust mixtures or directly sprinkle it over veggies, scrambled eggs, omelettes, soups, pastas and even popcorn!
You can find it at most health stores and it can be stored in an airtight container in a dark place for up to a year.
I’m a huge fan of this flavour-filled, nutrient-dense discovery!
Hungry Little Monkey 