Where to buy nutritional yeast in Gainesville

If you're new to vegan food, you may be hesitant when a recipe that calls for "nutritional yeast." Outside of the vegan and niche health food world, nutritional yeast does not get much mention, despite being, well, nutritious.

But don't let your fear hold you back. You can find this cheese replacement in many stores in Gainesville.

The cheapest place to buy nutritional yeast, or "nooch,"  in Gainesville is at the bulk bins at Ward's Supermarket. Other places that stock nooch in town include Citizen's Co-op, Earth Origins (formerly Mother Earth), Publix, and Trader Joe's.

Why Gainesville Is Awesome: The Tempeh Shop

One of the questions I hate answering more than "where do you get your protein" is the unavoidable "what is THAT?" whenever I'm seen eating tempeh (which I do quite a bit). Tempeh, despite being found in most major markets (the Publix here in carries it in their produce aisle), is still a big mystery. And with good reason. That's because tempeh, like a good loaf of bread, is best when made as locally as possible. Tempeh is actually pretty easy to make at home, although it does take time. However, I'm not so sure I'm ready to go out and buy myself a tempeh making set-up right this second (although I've considered it!). For people like me, Jose Caraballo has a solution.

Jose runs The Tempeh Shop here in Gainesville, and he's the reason why you see tempeh on pretty much every vegan-friendly restaurant menu in Gainesville. Not only is he awesome enough to sell his tempeh to restaurants all over Florida, he sells his tempeh directly to the public.
You can buy Jose's tempeh by the pound at Ward's Supermarket and Citizen's Co-op, but I would really suggest that you swing by the The Tempeh Shop's stand at the Union Street Farmer's Market, open from 4-7pm each Wednesday, where you can buy their tempeh for only $5/lb! Not only is it cheap tempeh, but they're pretty cool people too.

If you're just looking for a protein boost but want to avoid all the hexane is most commercially produced protein powders, The Tempeh Shop also makes protein powders out of their tempeh.

Trader Joe's coming to Gainesville

It's not listed on their website or anything, but the Alachua County Clerk of Court records show that Trader Joe's, a specialty food grocer based out of California, is set to open a store on Archer Rd. in Gainesville.

Ever since Trader Joe's opened their first Florida location down in Naples, there's been talk of a Trader Joe's opening up in Gainesville as well. This new store will be TJ's third store in Florida, with its Sarasota location opening up in September.