Have you heard of nutritional yeast? It’s like vegan pixie dust.

No, it won’t make you fly, but it is pretty magical.

OK, so it kind of looks like fish food, and the words “nutritional” and “yeast” don’t sound very tasty. But trust us: This stuff will change your life.

Nutritional yeast, nicknamed “nooch,” comes in flake or powder form. It has a bit of a cheesy flavor, which means it tastes good on just about everything.

One of the best things is that it has vitamin B₁₂. (B₁₂ is added to most nutritional yeasts but not all.) You need B₁₂ because it helps your body make red blood cells and DNA. DNA is what makes you who you are—so you could almost say that nooch helps to make you … you! It contains all nine of the amino acids (building blocks) that your body doesn’t make on its own, and 9 grams of protein are in just 2 tablespoons!

Here are our top nooch tips:

• Take it with you to the movies and sprinkle it on your popcorn.
• Order Little Caesars Crazy Bread without the cheese and put some nooch on it instead.
• Put it on pasta.
• Make your own mac and cheese and use nooch for the cheese flavor.
• Is there a veggie that you don’t love but know you should eat? Nooch it up.
• It’s great as a salad topping.
• It takes your morning tofu scramble to a whole new level.
• When your parents fry polenta, tofu, or tempeh, ask them to coat it with nutritional yeast. It makes things a little crispier.
• It’s even safe for dogs and cats to eat, so you can put it on their food as an extra treat. 🙂

Nooch has so many uses … so get sprinkling!