Basil Pesto with Nutritional Yeast – Glam Radar

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I have raided my last bunch of basil from my garden and making pesto to freeze for later use. I seriously love pesto. I use it on eggs, pizza, drizzle it on fresh cut tomatoes, add it to cooked quinoa and brown rice and it is great on fish and chicken.

Pesto is typically made with parmesan cheese and I don’t often have raw parmesan cheese on hand, unless I know I will be making something with it. I do however always have nutritional yeast which has a cheesy flavour and makes a great cheese substitute. Nutritional yeast is found in bulk in most health food stores and is yellow and flaky.

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Nutritional yeast is the richest natural source of B complex vitamins. This important vitamin is also found primarily in animal products especially liver and in small amounts in some fermented products such was tempeh. Some brands of nutritional yeast contain B12 as an addition. Nutritional yeast is commonly used with vegans because it is difficult to obtain B vitamins from their diet without supplementing. One ounce of nutritional yeast contains 14 grams of protein which is another reason why it is popular in a vegan diet. This yeast is deactivated and pasteurized so it does not fall into the “bad yeast” category for those concerned with Candida. Its grown on cane sugar and beet molasses and harvested, dried and packaged.

B vitamins are very important for managing stress and keeping our nervous systems healthy. I often increase my B vitamins when I am feeling stressed or fatigued. B vitamins are also important for the health of our skin, hair and eyes.

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Basil Pesto

  • 2 cups basil leaves
  • 2 or 3 garlic cloves
  • 1/3 cup pine nuts
  • 1/4 cup olive oil
  • 2 tbsp nutritional yeast
  • sea salt to taste

In a food processor fitted with an S blade, blend the basil, garlic and pine nuts until chopped finely, Add in the olive oil, salt and nutritional yeast.

I scoop the pesto into a silicon mini muffin tray and freeze them. Pop them out when they are frozen and seal in a bag and refreeze for later use.

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