I love nutritional yeast. Yum!!

Stop looking at me like I'm a lunatic.  Nutritional yeast.  Yup.  It's this "new" stuff that most of my friends have never heard of.  It is so yummy, and incredibly versatile.  So what is it?  Wikipedia, which I trust a drop more than I trust this current administration, says this about it:

Nutritional yeast is a deactivated yeast, often a strain of Saccharomyces cerevisiae, which is sold commercially as a food product. It is sold in the form of flakes or as a yellow powder and can be found in the bulk aisle of most natural food stores. It is popular with vegans and vegetarians and may be used as an ingredient in recipes or as a condiment. 

(I was gonna make it yellow, but then I was worried you would either cart me away to the loony bin, or just not be able to read it.  Which is of more concern to me?  I guess the second.)

This is the brand we use the most, although I don't notice a difference between this one and Red Yeast, which is the other one we can get locally.   I don't think it makes a difference, by girls complain that the flakes on the other one is too big.  I haven't tried the powder yet, just because I can't find it.  I do need to look for it in bulk, because I go through a LOT of this.

So what does it do?  Well, it depends.  You can make something taste like chicken.  You can make it taste like cheese.  For real!  I make these "chicken" crackers, which are really savory crackers.  These are the all time, hands down, winner of crackers in the house.  I can make double or triple the recipe, and it is still gone within a day.  I make a pareve cheddar cheese cracker with it   I use it to make my own bouillon mix.  (Take THAT Goodman's and their MSG!)

But, here is where I love it the most .. ON POPCORN!  Yup.  It is delicious!  It is high in vitamin B.  And it's pretty low calorie.  I put anywhere from 1/4 c to 1/2 cup popcorn kernels in a bag.  My microwave has this cool little feature in that I just push the popcorn button, and a little while later it beeps to tell me my popcorn is done popping.  Remember that mister I use for my oil?  Well pump that little baby up a few times, squirt a tiny bit of olive oil on it, and shake some nutritional yeast on.  I am OCD about it, and I spray and shake and spray and shake and spray and shake.  I don't get that much oil, because I checked in the can how much I've used, and it isn't really that much.  I sometimes add the tiniest dash of salt.  Now comes the fun.  Eat and Enjoy!  Your fingers will turn all yellow and you can lick them too. When you get to the bottom of the bag, you will find a bunch of nurtitional yeast just waiting for you to lick your finger, touch it to catch it, and lick your finger again.  yum, yum, yum.  (I guess it would be sorta gross to watch me do this. Guess why this is best done in the dark with your lap top on your chest while watching Project Runway.  Oh, and make sure you look the other way when your husband vacuums the family room on eruv Shabbos and mutters about the popcorn that is found in the couch.  AND, make sure you have a teenage available eruv pesach to clean the couch.  Unless you are sefardi, in which case, I guess you can enjoy your popcorn on pesach, but the nutritional yeast would be a problem.)

[off topic -- Did you notice that I tend to write these huge, run on sentences.  Does it bother you?  Or are you just following my train of thought and thinking I am insane?  Cuz I am.]