Learn how to make grilled romaine lettuce and grill any type of green leafy vegetables for a summer delicacy.

Outdoor grilling is a natural celebration of the season. Most of us, however, don’t think outside the box when it comes to the potential of the grill. It can do so much more than char a steak to smoky perfection. In fact, it performs wonders on none other than leafy green vegetables. Yes, grilled greens are a thing and are most certainly worthy of your attention. Tonight, instead of opting for a green leafy salad bowl, try grilled romaine or other greens  instead. Here’s a step-by-step guide on how to grill vegetables of the leafy persuasion without fail, each and every time.

How to Make Grilled Romaine and Other Grilled Green Leafy Veggies

1. Heat up the grill.
2. Pick a green leaf vegetable. If you are using a thicker, more stable green leaf, such as collard greens, kale, Swiss chard, or romaine, you don’t need extra tools. The leaves can be placed directly onto the grill, away from the flame. If you are grilling smaller, frailer green leaves, such as spinach or any variety that is chopped, you will need a wire rack or a colander bowl with small holes to hold them so that they don’t fall through the grill.
3. Season greens with salt, pepper, and whatever  seasoning you’d like. Drizzle very lightly with olive oil.
4. Cover the grill or the colander in which the greens may be. This will help the green leaves to retain an iconic smoky flavor. After a few minutes, open the grill or lid of the bowl and toss with tongs. Continue to cover and toss the greens until they are wilted and tender.
5. Remove the green leaf vegetables from the grill. Season with salt and pepper, drizzle olive oil, and squirt with fresh lemon juice prior to serving.

How to Eat Grilled Romaine and Other Green Leaf Veggies

There are many ways to enjoy grilled greens. They add a unique smoky flavor to your dishes and because they are cooked, offer more comfort than raw greens. Serving the grilled greens as a side dish is a great go-to way to enjoy them in all their authenticity. I like to add them as another layer in thick sandwiches, such as in this black bean and quinoa-based veggie burger. I also often add grilled greens to my dips for extra nutrition, such as to this avocado hummus recipe, these sorrel and basil and celery recipes, or this black bean dip. Grilled greens also mix well into raw salads and marinara and alfredo sauces for pasta. Enjoy!

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Grilled romaine image via Another Pint Please

The post How to Make Grilled Romaine (and Other Leafy Greens): When a Raw Salad Just Won’t Cut It appeared first on EcoSalon.

Taking an odd ingredient and finding even more unusual uses for it.

It’s not so much that the following uses are particularly unusual, but rather that nutritional yeast itself is an odd ingredient. It’s gaining popularity among foodies for its cheesy taste and nutritional benefits, but it still has a way to go in terms of becoming the pantry staple it’s meant to be. Nutritional yeast (nooch) is one of the only non-animal sources of vitamin B-12. It only takes 1/2-1 tbsp of nutritional yeast to get the daily requirement for B-12. Nutritional yeast is also an excellent source of iron, magnesium, phosphorus, zinc, chromium, selenium, and other minerals as well as 18 amino acids, protein, folic acid, biotin, and other vitamins.

And don’t worry about the yeast fermenting in your gut. It’s deactivated, so it will not give you the bloat. This is what distinguishes it from Brewer’s Yeast, which has not been deactivated.

Pop Corn

As if popcorn couldn’t get any more addicting, nooch had to get involved. Sprinkle the powder along with a drizzle olive oil and a dash of sea salt onto popcorn just popped for a cheesy touch. Add other spices, such as garlic powder, dried thyme or dried rosemary for an even more gourmet experience.

Pizza

Skip cheese and sprinkle a light layer of nutritional yeast onto pizza just after it leaves the oven. Cheese is hard to digest, especially when cooked, but that doesn’t mean you have to cede the taste completely. If you top a pizza with diverse textures and flavors, such as a robust marinara sauce, roasted vegetables and nutritional yeast, the cheese component is unnecessary.

Vegan Cheese Sauce

The food blog world is bursting with vegan “cheese” recipes – some simple, some elaborate – with nutritional yeast as the key ingredient. Check out Angela’s Low-Fat Vegan Cheeze Sauce on her blog Oh She Glows for a 5-ingredient approach. Head over to Epicurian Vegan for a heartier vegan cheese sauce that gets some extra bulk from cashews.

Bread Crumbs

Replace bread crumbs with nutritional yeast in any mixture requiring holding power. This cuts down on the carbs and adds an extra bite. Try using nutritional yeast to hold together veggie burgers or any other patty that would normally require bread crumbs.

Kale Chips

There’s nothing wrong with the standard kale chip recipe. But, nutritional yeast takes kale chips to a whole new level – a level that merits obsession and daily consumption. Try your hand at the Spicy & Cheesy Kale Chips presented by the blog Eating Bird Food.

Macaroni & Cheese

We’ve already given macaroni and cheese a serious makeover, and nutritional yeast was an crucial player in this feat. Not only is this recipe vegan, but thanks to nooch, it offers cheesy comfort to a creamy, sweet potato base.

Pasta

Skip the grated parmesan and sprinkle nutritional yeast atop warm pasta along with some garlic powder and a drizzle of olive oil. The combination of flavors makes for a dish that doesn’t miss a thing.

Mashed Potatoes

Stir nooch into mashed potatoes, not only saving calories by nixing cheese but also cutting down on the sodium. Indeed, mashed potatoes can be healthy.

Bean Dip

Emily Malone of the blog Daily Garnish makes a fabulous bean dip using nutritional yeast. If serving this at a party, no one would even be able to tell its vegan.

Roasted Vegetables

One of my favorite go-to meals is roasted vegetables topped with shredded cheese. On days I’d like to skip the cheese and opt for a healthier alternative, I stir nutritional yeast into the finished vegetables instead. When warmed by the vegetables, the yeast smoothens out and creates a creamy sauce with help from the vegetable juices and oils.

Roasted Nuts

Roast nuts that have been tossed in some nutritional yeast. The roasted flavor will be augmented and the nuts will have a slightly cheesy coating on the skin.

Onion Rings

Nutritional yeast has been showing up in onion ring recipes, and for good reason. It helps to increase the nutritional benefit of onion ring batter and adds an edge to each bite. Make the baked fat-free onion rings featured on vegan blog My Whole Deal.

Sauce Thickener

Much like flour and butter are used to thicken a sauce, nutritional yeast can replace the flour to do the same thing.

Gravy

Keeping your health on track during the holidays is all about cutting corners in small ways. Nutritional yeast can redefine gravy. Bring this simple recipe to the table and the cheer will only heighten.

Salad Dressing

Sneak in your B12 quota is by adding a tablespoon of nutritional yeast to a homemade salad dressing like the Hollyhock Salad Dressing, which you can find on A Passionate Plate blog.

French Fries

Want some added nutrition, crisp, and kick to a homemade version of baked French fries? Drizzle olive oil over cut root vegetables and then toss them in a few tablespoons of nutritional yeast. The flavor is out of this world.

Creamy Cooked Greens

Cooked spinach pairs well with cream and cheese, but you can replace those heavier add-ins with a tablespoon or two of nutritional yeast and then watch as the bare spinach suddenly becomes decadently creamy and bold in flavor.

Vegan Quiche

Experiment with this No-Soy Vegan Quiche recipe from blog Triumph Wellness. It’s the perfect example of where just a little bit of nooch makes a big difference.

Dog Food

Dogs need their vitamin B12 too, especially if your dog is on a plant-based diet. Mix some nutritional yeast in your furry friend’s nibbles and he or she will benefit in a major way.

Baby Formula

If a baby is using formula in place of breast feeding, it is recommended to add nutritional yeast to the infant formula.  Nutritional yeast provides B12, iron and folic acid, which are essential to growth.

Aylin Erman currently resides in Istanbul and is creator of plant-based recipe website GlowKitchen.

Photo Credit: Artizone, Acquired Life

The post 20 Unusual Ways to Use Nutritional Yeast appeared first on EcoSalon.