As regular Small Bites readers know, I'm a huge fan of what I like to call "nutritional sprinkling".A tablespoon of ground flaxseeds in a smoothie, a tablespoon of wheat germ with yogurt, and a few teaspoons of oat bran in your cereal are wonderful ways of gradually integrating substantial nutrition to your day.
Now I introduce you to another all-star on my sprinkling team -- nutritional yeast.
Many vegans are familiar with it -- for the right reason!
Nutritional yeast is a deactivated yeast naturally loaded with B vitamins and usually fortified with vitamin B12 (the one vegans have the hardest time getting in their food.)
Even better -- two tablespoons of it provide a whopping 5 grams of fiber, 8 grams of protein, a practically non-existent 30 milligrams of sodium, and 375 milligrams of potassium (as much as a small banana)!
As if that weren't enough, it's also a great source of zinc and selenium.
If you have never tried nutritional yeast, I can best describe it as a delectable nutty/parmesan cheese-like flavor.
As far as initial experiences go, I recommend sprinkling it over popcorn, in soups and stir-fries, or over your favorite pasta dish.
Although most conventional supermarkets don't carry nutritional yeast, you can find it at Whole Foods, or your local health store.
It is by no means a wallet buster -- a 5 ounce (that's plenty!) container of Red Star Nutritional Yeast, for instance, retails for $5.19.
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