CHEEZ

Moo and boo don't seem to notice a difference between the yeast flakes and powdered cheese

When I was breastfeeding my son I had to cut out dairy. I missed popcorn and my friend Pat suggested I try coconut oil instead of butter. Since then I have yet to go back. It turns out the alternative was better than the original! I seem to remember her suggesting adding nutritional yeast also. Supposedly it makes the popcorn cheesy. A butter substitute was one thing, but a cheese substitute? ! I had tried those before.  yuck. And yeast? I Took a rain check.

This past month I cashed in on that rain check when I was given free product to review. I received an 8 oz bag of nutritional yeast flakes from Sari Foods. Let me tell you, 8 oz of nutritional yeast flakes is much more than 8 oz of cheese because this stuff is powder light. Right away I tried it on popcorn as my friend Pat, and every health food junkie I know, had recommended. I did not like it. It was dry. I added olive oil and then it tasted like, well, olive oil. The kids gobbled it up though.

At first, a bit frightened, I covered only a few bites with the flakes

I went to the internet in search of a good recipe. I saw people claiming you could use it anywhere you use parmesan. I also read several sites saying it didn't really work on tomato pasta sauce because the "cheez" flavor was overpowered by the tomato flavor. One guy said you just needed to add a ton. We were having leftover pasta for lunch, so I poured a bunch on one side, took a deep breath and... LOVED IT! I poured the "cheez" all over the bowl, just like I want to with parmesan but have to hold back. This was nutritional! I could go all out. Man, I am getting hungry just thinking of it.

 

Once I realized how yummy it was I smothered the sauce in the yeast

 Next I was ready to try a bigger recipe. I was starting to get sold. This next recipe is mother-in-law approved scalloped-Cheez potatoes.

 I used this recipe but flexed the ingredients a bit. My ingredients were:

4 lb potatoes, sliced thin in food processor

I love to set all my ingredients out before starting!

1.5 C homemade broth (I say you could sub this with a milk/water combo, I have also heard apple     

          juice or beer are good broth substitutes)

2.5 C goat milk (use any dairy your gut can stand, original recipe uses coconut)

1/4 C butter (use any fat)

1/4 C tapioca starch (again any starch)

1/4 C sweet rice flour (get me in the ethnic section of the grocery store!)

1/4 C nutritional yeast flakes

1 t onion powder

1/2 t garlic powder

1 t dry mustard powder

1/2 t white pepper

1/2 t nutmeg

This was what it looked like before I tossed it in the oven

Stir, stir, stir...

Pretty sure I stopped there as I didn't have any white wine and the mayo seemed unneccesary as did the lemon juice.

Oh, and I cut up bits of ham to add. So not vegan anymore, but an upgrade from the usual cheese heavy scalloped potatoes.

I loved how this turned out. The Ogre loved how this turned out. Moo and Boo loved how this turned out. MY mother in law loved how this turned out. Nobody recognized it as anything other than good ol' scalloped taters.

Straight out of the oven. You sure there isn't cheese in this?

Now I am ready to try the popcorn again. This time I will use my own popper (I have an air popper and had used the microwave popper my mother had, I think this is where the dryer flavor came from?). I will try it with a bit of coconut oil or butter and see if I need to add any salt. Nutritional yeast has definately earned its place in my pantry!