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Can You Eat Yams On Paleo?

Can You Eat Yams On Paleo?

Dieting and exercise can sometimes be such a pain. If that wasn’t a regular part of your lifestyle before, it can be rather difficult to adjust.

Nobody blames you – most people do understand. However, for the sake of your health, you should be looking into eating clean and maybe even losing a few pounds.

That’s where the Paleo diet comes in. It’s not very hard to follow it, as you’re supposed to only eat foods your ancestors from the Paleolithic era. Let’s face it – it seems easy.

Do note that you will be faced with various questions and doubts while following this lifestyle. Some things are obvious that they did not exist in Paleo, like chocolate desserts, but other things?

For example, yams? Can you eat yams on paleo? Can a delicious portion of yams fit in your new, Paleo diet lifestyle?

Maybe, maybe not. There is only one thing left to do right now – continue reading our article to find out can you eat yams on paleo!

Can I Eat Yams On Paleo

Can You Eat Yams On Paleo? Yes/No

When you’re just starting in the Paleo world, you will face so many questions. Whether you can eat this or that, is this no good for you, etc.

Now, around the holidays, yams are calling to you, and you want to know whether it’s a good idea to eat a portion of yams. So, can you eat yams on Paleo?

Without any further ado, yes, you can eat yams on Paleo! In reality, yams are a delicious treat you can safely eat while on Paleo, without the worry you are breaking your diet.

On the other hand, do note that many people follow this lifestyle choice not to eat yams because of the yams’ nutritional value. They are a good source of carbs, so if you want to lose some weight, you should keep that in mind!

In essence, the Paleo diet is about returning to the diets our great ancestors had in this era. Like all root vegetables, yams are completely natural and they exist for a long, long time now. 

Eat Yams On Paleo

Preparing Yams On Paleo

One of the things that make the yams such a delicious treat is that meals with yams are fairly easy to make and prepare. Some meals on Paleo can be a hassle to prepare, but yams can be such a hassle-free meal.

The easiest way to enjoy yams (and the fastest, while we’re at it) is to grab your potato, wash it and poke a few holes in the skin. Use a fork or a toothpick, and then place the potato in the microwave for 4 to 5 minutes on each side.

If you have a little more time or you want to make it more delicious, you can take some extra effort. Rub the yams with healthy fat, poke the skin, and roast it in the oven. It will take longer, but the potato skin will be so crispy!

Extra tip: Add some butter and a dash of cinnamon for extra flavor!

Of course, that’s not all you can do with sweet potato-like yams. There are various other yummy meals you can prepare.

For example, you can:

Fry the yams:With some healthy fat, not vegetable or fryer oil
Scallop the yams:With spices, for example, Tex-Mex
Stuff the yams:With shrimp or bacon
Mash the yams:For a side for roast beef
Puree the yams:For soups and sauces
Braise the yams:For any type of chicken

Sweet potatoes, or in this question, yams, can be enjoyed in a variety of meals because they go well with anything and everything. Yams will taste right in sweet, spicy, and even savory dishes.

If you cannot figure out what meals would simply taste better with yams, you can just replace white potatoes with yams. Moreover, you can use yams instead of squash for a different taste. Yams are a great addition to salads, casseroles, frittatas, and even cottage pie!

Do note that you don’t have to eat yams when you’re following the Paleo lifestyle. If you’re exercising a lot, it may be good for you to eat yams, since they will fuel your body with the energy it requires.

Another plus for eating yams on paleo is that the sweet potatoes are cheap, easy to prepare, and delicious! If you’re in a rush to prepare a yummy meal following the rules, the yams will always come in handy. So, don’t be surprised when you realize you’re always adding some yams to your cart!

Lpc Can You Eat Yams On Paleo

Nutritional Value Of Yams

When you’re following Paleo for weight loss, you should mind the nutritional value above all things. Sure, it can be easier to drop pounds when you eat the way our ancestors would, but you can still make mistakes.

If you can tell that your progress isn’t going as well as you hoped it would, it’s probably due to the nutritional value of the meals you’re eating. You’re either taking in too many calories or too many carbs.

To know if the yams are a great idea while you’re losing weight, let’s check out the table for 1 cup of cubed yams:

Fat0.3g
Total Carbohydrates42g
Sugars6g
Dietary fiber0.8g
Protein2.3g

The first thing we should mention is that yams are rather high in carbs. If you’re looking to drop some pounds, you should avoid eating yams on the regular.

If you truly do love yams, perhaps a small portion once a week will not harm your weight loss journey. Too many yams will interfere with your calorie and carb intake.

Yams are also a great source of vitamin C and vitamin A. Yams also contain a fair amount of an antioxidant called beta-carotene which protects the skin from free radicals.

The yams also contain magnesium, which is a mineral that helps you relieve stress and feel better overall. Moreover, the yams contain a fair amount of dietary fiber, which can boost your metabolism and help you lose weight.

On the other hand, yams score lower on the GI – the glycemic index than white potatoes. That’s especially true if you boil the potatoes. A boiled yam scores a 46 on the GI scale, which is pretty low.

Furthermore, a boiled white potato has a GI of 82, which is rather high. If you need to follow the glycemic indexes of food because of your condition, it’s always better to swap the white potatoes for yams when the recipe calls for boiled potatoes.

When you bake the sweet potato, the GI spikes to 94 on the scale, the same as the white potato. So, if you follow the GI index, definitely pick boiled yams over baked whenever you can!

Sweet Potatoes And Yams

Sweet Potatoes And Yams – What’s The Difference?

While it’s rather common to call the sweet potatoes yams, and vice versa – these two vegetables aren’t the same. There are quite a few distinctions!

The first difference between the two is the taste. The sweet potatoes are rather sweet, while yams have a sweet but starchy and dry taste.

Both vegetables are tuber vegetables, and they can look rather similar. However, yams tend to grow larger, and they have tougher skin to peel.

Sweet potatoes have softer skin, it’s easy to peel and they don’t grow in size as much. Despite that, they’re still larger than white potatoes, for example.

Also, the yams hold better when stored – they can stay fresh for a rather long time, even a few months. On the other hand, sweet potatoes can’t stay fresh that long.

Furthermore, yams and sweet potatoes are prepared differently, and they hold different nutritional values. In the US, real yams can be difficult to find, as they are not produced locally – yams have to be imported.

Can You Eat Yams On Paleo? – Bottom Line

To conclude, you can eat yams on Paleo without the worry you might be breaking your diet. Yams are natural and they exist for a long time now!

While you will not be breaking your diet, you should keep in mind that yams contain a large number of carbs. Carbs can interfere with your diet, and make your weight loss a real challenge. 

On the other hand, yams contain dietary fiber and are a great source of vitamins and minerals. If you eat a modest portion, you will give your body all the necessary nutrients without going overboard with the calorie count.

Lastly, yams are super tasty and easy to prepare. There are so many ways to prepare yams, it would be a mistake not to try it all!