Tag Archives: nutritional yeast flakes

A+ Vegan Mac and Cheese

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imageA guest post by Ms. TheVeganAsana Jr.2
~Recipe adapted from simple-veganista.com~

After many attempts to get it right, the current winner in the battle for best homemade vegan macaroni and cheese is this easy recipe.

Ingredients
8 oz. pasta
1 1/4 cup unsweetened non-dairy milk
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 heaping tablespoons flour
3/4 cup nutritional yeast
2 tablespoons non-dairy butter
salt
any seasonings you prefer

Process
Cook pasta and set aside

Add oil and flour into a pot and whisk together. Cook for two minutes.

Add non-dairy milk slowly while stirring. Cook until the mixture thickens.

Remove from heat and add nutritional yeast, non-dairy butter, salt, and whatever seasonings.

Whisk and then add it to the pasta.

Serve immediately or refrigerate and reheat in the microwave later (you may need to add a bit of water or unsweetened soy milk).

Vegan Roasted Tomato Pesto

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Credit for this idea goes to the wonderful heath coach and amazing cook Leslie Neri who posted some pictures of a similar dish on her Facebook page and made me need to make it!

We’ve been getting many grape tomatoes in our CSA share this year, and no one in my family, except me, is really big on uncooked tomatoes. So, they sit until I think of something to make with them. I was getting behind when a Facebook post sparked this idea to roast them up and make pesto. Happily for me, that week’s CSA share also contained fresh basil, and I already had garlic and nutritional yeast, so only a bag of pine nuts was needed. You can substitute almonds easily for the pine nuts if you don’t have them on hand!

Ingredients

3 pints grape tomatoes (other tomatoes will work, also)
1 bulb garlic
1 large bunch of basil
2 cups pine nuts (substitute with almonds if desired)
¼ cup olive oil
½ cup nutritional yeast flakes
Sea salt to taste

IMG_1417Process

Slice grape tomatoes lengthwise and arrange in a single layer on baking pans. Drizzle lightly with olive oil. Place garlic bulb on pan. Roast at 375* until they begin to brown at edges, stirring carefully every 10 minutes. Set aside.

Place pine nuts in food processor. Add tomatoes, garlic (peeled of course), basil (leaves only), nutritional yeast, and remaining olive oil. Pulse to a pesto texture. Add additional olive oil if needed.

Serve tossed with pasta, on a wrap with fresh veggies, etc. My children suggest that it is good enough to be eaten with a spoon directly from the blender.

Yummy.

Nooch News

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IMG_1002webIf you have been reading The VeganAsana for any period of time, you have probably noticed that my recipes often contain nutritional yeast. I use it in so many things that I buy it in large containers and keep a shaker on the table.

So, if you are not a “nooch” (a little nickname it has developed) user, here’s the scoop.

Nutritional yeast is a fungi (Saccharomyces Cervisiae) that grows on molasses and then is processed and dried and sold in flake or powder form. Because it is a fungi, like mushrooms, it is a vegan food.

Nooch is not like baking yeast or brewer’s yeast. It won’t help your cinnamon buns rise or give you a great start on that home-brewed pale ale.

I mostly use nooch because it tastes so good. It has an umami flavor, sort of like something between nuts and cheese. It pairs well with many foods and imparts a bit of a creamy taste in recipes, as well as being a credible substitute for parmesan cheese.

While I like it mostly because it’s delicious, it’s also nutritious (though the amounts you’ll likely consume at one time are pretty small). Nooch naturally contains most of the B-complex vitamins, except B-12, selenium, and potassium. It is a complete protein. Most brands of nutritional yeast are also fortified with B-12, making it a full compliment of the Bs.

So, what do I use it in? It might be easier to say what I don’t use it in! You can find nooch in my Tunaught Salad, Vegan Lasagna, Cheesy Marinara, Tofu Loaf, Tofu Scramble, Fried Green Tomatoes, Breaded Vegan Eggplant, Cheesy Mashed Potato Soup, on Chickpea Nuggets, Fauxrito Kale Chips, and on Vegan Cheesy Move Popcorn. That’s not all, but I’m trying not to get carried away with this list.

You should try it. Really.

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