Food Recommendation of the Week: Try Nutritional Yeast Flakes!

Picture Source: http://creativebioscience.com/blog/healthy-flavorful-cheese-substitutes-and-alternatives/

It may not sound too appetizing, but nutritional yeast is actually a quite flavorful and super nutritious “seasoning.” For vegans, nutritional yeast is really the only source of Vitamin B 12 since that vitamin is typically only found in animal products (yeast is a fungi). This yeast tastes kind of cheesy and salty, so it acts as a great seasoning to flavor pasta dishes, eggs, even popcorn! If you Google nutritional yeast, I guarantee lots of faux-cheese and macaroni and “cheese” dishes will come up.

Why do I love it? I love the stuff because it is a great way to cut sodium out of your diet, by using this to flavor food instead of salt and/or cheese. It is also LOADED with B vitamins, so no need to take that supplement- just add a tbsp of this stuff to your diet! It is also a very dense form of fiber (4 g) and protein (8g) per 2 tbsp serving. This stuff is definitely a super food that everyone should try.

Nutrition info: Serving size= 2 heaping tablespoons

60 calories, 1 g fat, 5 mg sodium, 7 g carb (4 g fiber!), 8 g protein, 4 % DV iron, 640% DV Thiamin, 565% DV Riboflavin, 480% DV Vit B6, 60% DV Folate, 133% Dv Vit B12, and a good source of phosphorus, zinc, selenium, and biotin. Source: http://www.bulkfoods.com/nutritional_yeast.htm

My recommendations: Purchase nutritional yeast in the bulk bins at Whole Foods- that is where you will find the cheapest version. You can also buy it packaged or online, but it will be more expensive. In bulk, it is very cheap and you don’t need to use much to get major health benefits. So, I recommend on your next shopping trip to pick up a little baggy of this stuff and try it on something that you might normally sprinkle parmesan cheese on.