Nutritional “Cheese” Puffs

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~ raw, vegan, gluten-free ~

So what prompted me to attempt making raw cheese puffs? One evening as I was scrolling through “Google-land,”  I spied an image of a young man who took a picture of himself after he had stuffed as many cheese puffs into his mouth as possible. It sort of gave me nightmares, but I still peeked at the photo through the slits of my fingers that hid my eyes. Lol But then I got to thinking… and NO, I am not going to see how many raw cheese puffs I can fit into my mouth and take a picture! I do have limits.  haha

It sort of gave me nightmares, but I still peeked at the photo through the slits of my fingers that hid my eyes. Lol But then I got to thinking… and NO, I am not going to see how many raw cheese puffs I can fit into my mouth and take a picture!  I do have limits.  haha

These are not your typical neon orange puffs of air.  If you are not sure what I am even talking about, quickly look here. How do they make these things commercially? Basically, they take cornmeal, mix it with water, and extrude it. To create a Cheeto (curl), they extrude it as a rod and cut it every inch or two. For the cheese balls, it is extruded and then cut it into ball shapes. Then they are fried in oil and covered with a cheesy powder.

The ingredients that make up these cheesy snacks are; Enriched Corn Meal (Corn Meal, Ferrous Sulfate, Niacin, Thiamin Mononitrate, Riboflavin, and Frolic Acid), Vegetable Oil (Contains one or more of the following: corn, soybean, or sunflower oil), Whey, Salt, Cheddar Cheese, (Cultured Milk, Salt, Enzymes). Partially Hydrogenated Soybean Oil, Maltodextrin, Disodium Phosphate, Sour Cream (Cultured Cream, Nonfat Milk), Artificial Flavor, Monosodium Glutamate, Lactic Acid, Artificial Colors (Including Yellow 6), and Citric Acid. Contains Milk Ingredients.

Why do I go into so much detail about what goes into the store-bought snacks? Well, basically because it astounds me as to what I USED to eat. I once experienced the guilty “pleasure” of inhaling these chemically filled puffs of air, numerous times.  Thank goodness I can’t recall the last time. :)

Many times I share with you the benefits of the ingredients used in my recipes and how lucky we are that we can FILL our bodies with such goodness.  But sometimes, I like for us to realize just how lucky we are in what we DON’T put in our bodies.  My raw take on these cheese puffs is denser than the store-bought ones, but they do have a crunchy, light texture, and let’s not forget that yummy cheese flavor.

Ingredients:

yields 134 puffballs / roughly 100 cheese curls

• 2 cups packed, moist almond pulp
• 1 cup raw almond flour
• 1/2 cup  flax seeds, ground
• 1 cup nutritional yeast flakes
• 1 – 1 1/2 tsp red chili pepper flakes, ground
• 1 tsp Himalayan pink salt
• 1 cup diced red bell pepper or 1 cup roasted red pepper (not raw)
• 1/4 cup water
• 2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice

Coating:

• 1 cup nutritional yeast, powdered
• 2 tsp coarse sea salt
• 1 tsp cayenne

Preparation:

1. In a large bowl, combine the almond flour, ground flax seeds, nutritional yeast, ground red pepper flakes, and salt.  Stir until all the powders are mixed.  Add the moist almond pulp and mix well with your hands.  Set aside.
2. In the food processor, fitted with the “S” blade, combine the red pepper, water, and lemon juice.  Process until the red pepper is broken down and liquefied.   Pour over the other ingredients and with your hands, squish everything together really well.
3. I use Red Star Nutritional yeast, which is in a flake form.  Place the nutritional yeast in a spice grinder and grind it into a powder.
4. To make balls:
   • Take 1 tsp of batter and roll into a ball in the palm of your hands.  After about 20 balls, you might need to wash your hands before you continue.  Some of the batter will stick to your palms, and as it builds up, it will be harder to roll into balls.
   • Roll in the coating and place on the mesh sheet that comes with the dehydrator.
5. To make curls: (didn’t get photos!)
   • Place the batter in a piping bag, fitted with 1/2″ circular tip.
   • Hold the tip at a 45-degree angle right above the cutting board.  With an even and steady pressure, squeeze the batter out into a rope.
   • With a knife, cut the rope into 1″ lengths.  Roll each one in the coating.  Bend into a “C” shape and place on the mesh sheet that comes with the dehydrator.
6. Dry the cheese treats at 145 degrees F for 1 hour, reduce the temperature to 115 degrees and continue drying for 20-24 hours or until dry.
7. Store in an airtight container on the counter or in the pantry for 1-2 weeks.

Culinary Explanations:

• Why do I start the dehydrator at 145 degrees (F)?  Click (here) to learn the reason behind this.
• When working with fresh ingredients, it is essential to taste test as you build a recipe.  Learn why (here).
• Don’t own a dehydrator? Learn how to use your oven (here). I do, however, honestly believe that it is a worthwhile investment. Click (here) to learn what I use.

Tags: Almond Pulp, Dairy Free, Gluten Free, Refined Sugar Free, Soy Free, sugar free, Vegan