Greetings! :)
I had so many hiccups with work today. It was just one. of. those. days. I won’t bore you with the details though…!!
If there is one thing having my own bakery has taught me, it is that my own personal meals need to be QUICK, easy, yet still nutritious.
After a slight set back during clean up (I spilled a huge bag of GF rice crisp all over the kitchen! DOH!!!!!!!!), I dove into dinner mode.
I am on a huge savoury oats kick. I am really smitten over something when you see it on the blog more than once or twice. [See here and here for my first two successful attempts.]
Tonight my goal was to make the creamiest and cheesiest bowl of savoury oats yet. Did I just say cheesy? Why yes I did, and its’ name is nutritional yeast! Nooch for short. ;)
Sneaky Peaky…

Chia seeds were my best food find in 2009. My best food find in 2010 is nutritional yeast (so far anyways!). Although I started to use nutritional yeast in 2009, I didn’t really appreciate it until recently!
What is nutritional yeast?
“Yellow in color and with a nutty cheesy flavor, nutritional yeast is an inactive yeast that is a favorite amongst many vegans because of its unique flavor and similarity to cheese when added to foods. Sprinkle some on hot popcorn or garlic bread, or add a generous spoonful to a stir fry or pasta sauce. Nutritional yeast can be found in the bulk foods or supplement section of your health food store. [Source]
“It is a source of protein and vitamins, especially the B-complex vitamins and is a complete protein. It is also naturally low in fat and sodium. Some brands of nutritional yeast, though not all, are fortified with vitamin B12.’ [Source]
Nutritional yeast is a great way to reduce your cheese consumption, yet still create fabulously cheesy and decadent dishes! It is basically a vegan’s dream, but anyone with any diet can incorporate this into their meal plans.
This was by far my favourite bowl of savoury oats…

‘You’re So Cheezy’ Savoury Oats
Ingredients:
- 1/2 cup regular oats
- 1 cup water
- 1/2 cup almond milk
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 tablespoon nutritional yeast (the cheeze factor!)
- 1/6 block vegetable bouillon cube (or to taste!)
- Dash or two of turmeric
- Dash or two of the little black dress of seasonings (see below)
- Salt, if necessary
Directions: Mix all ingredients together in a pot and bring to a boil. Reduce to low and cook for 10 minutes, stirring frequently.

Best Buds:
Creamy goodness. You will not be disappointed when you try this.
I couldn’t find the new Mary’s twists in Whole Foods the other week! Hope they arrive soon. Anyone tried them?
Toppings:
- Mary’s Crackers, crunched up
- 1/2 avocado
- Salsa
- Veggie burger flop from last night (it tasted BAD today! blech!!)

Steam coming off the spoon!

Thanks to those of you who suggested adding nutritional yeast to my oats!
There are really no words for this. But I’ll try. :mrgreen:
It was the most beautiful and decadent tasting dish I have had in a long time. Yet healthy, vegan, and packed with superfoods! You could even add a tablespoon of chia seeds to the oats for an extra kick if you are feeling down right crazy.
BOOM:

Eric and I have this inside joke between us involving the word BOOM. If you have seen the movie Couples Retreat you will know what I’m talking about. In one scene the yoga instructor teaches a class to the couples. He twists and bends the women’s bodies all over the place and as he moves their body, he says BOOOOOOOOOOM in this really creepy voice. It is just hilarious and we were dying laughing as we watched it.
Anyways, now Eric and I always say BOOOOOOM at random things and we laugh our heads off. Eric saw that I wrote boom in Sunday’s post and he said, ‘No one is going to know why you say that you weirdo!’ lol. So…FYI!
Dessert- dried organic apricots. Booooooom.

Nature’s iron supplement, I call these!
What is your best food discovery (or favourite meal) so far in 2010?
Updates:
- A Glo Bar giveaway over at Fit This Girl!
- This morning’s Peppermint Pudding was featured on FitSugar today
- Do you know a baby girl in your life? Check out Baby Enchanted’s newest site just for girls called Trixi Lou Couture! Through the month of March, US residents receive $10 off any purchase of $50 or more. Just enter code OSG10 at checkout to receive this special offer. You can also check out their Facebook page here.
I’m off to workout. I wasn’t going to, but after the stress of the day I really think my body will thank me for releasing some endorphins! Need to focus on how good I will feel afterwards…think happy thoughts…

Take calculated risks. That is quite different from being rash.
~George S. Patton
I may just not be looking hard enough, but what kind/brand of “nooch” do you buy? I’ve hunted online and Bob’s Red Mill has flake yeast, but I wasn’t sure if that was the same thing.
I get mine at bulk barn :)
None of those in the states, unfortunately :( I’ll have to give Bob’s a try and see how it works!
Oh Em Gee… that looks AWESOME!!! I just started getting into nooch recently. I mostly eat it with fake buttah on millet bread…but that looks amaaaazing :)
Can’t wait to try it! Thanks for the recipe!
My best in 2009… GREEN MONSTERS! I do NOT like spinach, so it never occurred to me to add spinach to smoothies! Now I have my entire family hooked!
I tried nutritional yeast today and I’m in love! I made Quinoa rather than oats and it was DELISH!
1/4 cup quinoa
1/3 cup almond milk (didn’t measure)
1/2 cup water (didn’t measure)
1 1/2 TBSP nooch
1 TBSP taco seasoning
– mix it all together in your pot and cook the way you normally heat up quinoa
I put mine over a bed of:
spinach
green pepper slices
Topped with:
1/2 an avocado
greek yogurt (rather than sour cream)
and salsa!!
My boyfriend always adds nutritional yeast (aka “nooch”) to his oats…along with sweet stuff. I always tell him how weird it is, lol. Maybe I’ll actually try it for myself sometime. I love nutritional yeast, it tastes awesome in tofu scrambles, soups, and on pasta.
My favorite discovery this year (so far) has been smoothies. I know, I know, everyone already knows how awesome smoothies are, but it took me a while to figure it out.
Oh, man! To be honest, savory oats have not sounded appealing to me until now. That cheesy bowl just looks so delicious! Nutritional yeast is one of my best food friends. :) What an awesome dinner!
That’s so funny! I think my favourite find of 2010 has been nutritional yeast, too! I’m going to have to try the oats … I love cheesy things!
I’ve even rekindled a friendship with a product this year – Vega’s Whole Food Vibrance bars. Last year I hated them and this year I adore them! Who knew that flip would happen?
K
I give nutritional yeast the big thumbs down! Ew. I wrote a post a few weeks ago about foods that are always being hyped on fitness blogs that I hate and this was one of them! Nooch is not cheese, there’s no fooling me.
I think nutritional yeast is great. Its an awesome and very bio-available way of getting B vitamins and more. If you don’t like the taste Jenna Z, then I recommend taking it with spinach, kale and broccoli green juice recipes – hehe.
My husband is away so I just made this — much to my children’s horror — it is sooooo delicious!!!
I worry that making dinners like this means I’ve moved over to some crazy side but it seems I am in good company :D
are you saying I’m CRAZY?! haha
I only recently made the decision to eat healthy. I know this sounds ridiculous, but my favorite food discovery so far is tomatoes! But 2010 has just begun- I can’t wait to try a GM or something spelty, lol.
That recipe looks so good! Unfortunately I had a bad experience with mooch and I have not tried it since. Maybe I need to push myself to give it a whirl.
Best food to date? My rAw granola bars! Yum!
Ah, totally need to make this. I’ve been trying to think of something for dinner and I think the cheezy oats will be it!
Food finds:
Almond milk!
Avocado- I was always meh about avo. Didn’t think they were anything special. Now I’m addicted, can’t get enough avo. I eat a 1/2 of one several times a week.
Sadly, I’ve also discovered one thing I don’t like. I’m going to get tomatoes thrown at me for this. Mary’s Crackers. Do. Not. Like. The texture and taste is just so odd and not pleasant to me.
What kind of nutritional yeast brand do you use? I’ve been trying to find it everywhere and I can’t seem to get my hands on it!
Cheezy oats look really amazing. I love nootch, I just need to find it!
I know I’m a day late here, but I made your recipe with soft brown rice instead of oats and had it on a bed of kale with some sesame seeds. I also subbed curry for the turmeric and coconut milk for the almond milk. It was really delish!
Oooh, I love savoury oats too, stirring nutritional yeast into the pot is such a good idea!! I’ll have to try this next time :)
My best food find so far this year is “protein cookie dough.” Every single night for dessert I mix chocolate protein powder with a little bit of water to create a thick, yummy pudding :)
I think this is a bowl of savoury oats I could get behind. I’ve always shied away from them, because I do love my sweet oats for breakfast (or dinner), and I couldn’t think of the perfect combination of savoury flavours that would work for me. I bet adding some corn would work well with the avocado and salsa in the cheesy oats. And I think I actually have all the ingredients for this in my house! Woot!
I’ve been wanting to try these oats for so long but I’m either eating at work or eating with my boyfriend. I wanted to eat them so badly tonight that I sent boyfriend home after we weight lifted together. I’m pretty sure he wouldn’t these…but I am enjoying them right now. I have some ideas for the future. Thanks for sharing your obsession!
These are super yummy!
I added ground cumin to the oats instead of the tomato/basil seasoning. I served them just like Ange did….with Mary’s crackers, avocado, and salsa. Also squeezed a bit of lemon onto the avocado pieces, and drizzled it all with extra virgin olive oil instead of putting oil into the oats.
D-E-L-I-S-H!
Thanks for another great recipe Ange! You rock!
:)