With all the endless options of oils, grains, salts, sauces, there’s ONE item I ALWAYS have in my pantry, and is a staple condiment in my diet. If you read my blog Let’s Get Real About Food, you know that I have a slightly restricted diet due to my eczema, and can no longer handle eating dairy, gluten, and soy. To be honest, it’s really flipping hard! Not so much gluten or soy, that’s easier because I already avoid both. But Cheese! Cheese has been my best friend for my entire life, and to break up with it, has left me heartbroken, and crying while looking out a window while it rains! No more Parmigiano Reggiano?! Gruyere?! Manchego with figs?! What is a girl to do?! Ok ok, enough of the pity party- I’m putting my tiny violin away.
Enter, Nutritional Yeast! I first discovered nutritional yeast in 2008 while studying nutrition, and it’s been in my pantry ever since. This little gem of a condiment is deactivated yeast, so it doesn’t rise like yeast you’d find in bread. Because it’s not active, you don’t have to be concerned about an over growth of yeast in your body by consuming it. It’s cultivated from molasses (for the purpose of human consumption), but it doesn’t have any sweetness or sugar. The reason it’s called ‘nutritional’ yeast is because of it’s strong nutritional profile. It’s loaded with minerals & vitamins, especially B12, which is an important component to a vegan or vegetarian diet. It’s gluten free, sugar free, low in fat, low in calories, and pretty high in protein( 6+ grams in 2 tbsp.). The flavor profile is cheesy, nutty, and savory, so I like to add it to popcorn, red lentil pasta, pesto, sprinkled over roasted broccoli, sautéed greens, or I use it to make a cheese sauce for nachos(see photo :)), mac and cheese, the list goes on!
Creating recipes utilizing nutritional yeast has made this transition that much easier for me because it really acts as a cheese substitute, but it’s much more nutrient dense than the luscious, yet high fat real cheese. So when I feel like indulging, I will make my Seriously Delicious Vegan Loaded Nachos, and guys I’m not exaggerating when I say this, it’s like having ballpark nachos! You know the kind, yellow velvet gold. And ballpark nachos don’t even use real cheese. They use fake real cheese, which is gross and probably plastic. THIS IS A WIN! So when you’re thinking of your next football appetizer, make these nachos, be sure to lick your fingers, and tag @Empowered.Body on your Instagram post!
Seriously Delicious Vegan Loaded Nachos
Cheese Sauce:
-1/2 cup soaked cashews, for at least an hour in hot water-1 medium/large yukon gold potato, peeled and cut into chunks
-1 whole carrot, peeled and cut into chunks
-1/2 cup nutritional yeast
-1tbsp. apple cider vinegar
-1 tsp. onion powder
-1 tsp. garlic powder
-1 tsp. smoked paprika
-1/4 tsp. chili powder
-1 tsp. salt
-*reserved starchy water from potato and carrot
In a sauce pan, cover peeled/diced potato and carrot with cold water. Bring to boil, and let cook for 8-10 minutes, until soft. With a slotted spoon, transfer veggies to a blender, and add the drained soaked cashews. Start with 1/2 cup of the reserved starchy water, and blend until silky. Add the rest of the ingredients, scraping down the sides making sure everything gets blended smoothly. Continue to add the reserve water if necessary to get the consistency of nacho ‘cheese’. Check for seasonings, and adjust to your liking. It will vary depending on the size of your veggies and how much water you end up adding.
Loaded Nachos:
-corn chips, red/blue/white whatever floats your boat-pick the highest quality(no need for soybean oil!)
-1 jar/can vegetarian refried beans
-3-4 roma tomatoes, seeded, and diced
-avocado, diced (Living in New England, when they’re not ripe I buy Wholly Guacamole cups-100% Hass avocado, nothing else, and I add my own sea salt and pepper)
-fresh cilantro, about 1/4 cup, chopped
-*cheese sauce
-shredded iceberg lettuce
Prep all your veggies while you’re boiling the potato and carrot, so you can assemble the nachos while the cheese is hot! Once you’ve made the sauce, and prepped your veggies, I microwave the refried beans with 2 tbsp. water to loosen them up. Now you’re ready to assemble! It goes like this for me:
-layer corn chips
-dollop refried beans
-drizzle cheese generously
-sprinkle tomatoes
-2nd layer of corn chips
-dollop refried beans
-drizzle cheese sauce generously, store any remaining
-sprinkle tomatoes
-sprinkle/dollop avocado
-sprinkle iceberg lettuce
-finish with cilantro
Enjoy!!
