Yam-A starchy vegetable?

Okay so I think it's a vegetable not a potatoe LOL...omg i'm so bad but i'm really not sure actually................

and is it considered a starchy vegetable?

I think yams are a kind of starchy root tuber..

thank you............because I was thinking that I should have other veggies for the day instead of just that like broccoli since the yam seemed kinda starchy

I think it's a vegetable, i dunno....

I always was under the impression it was a vegetable.... and so was a potato?

It is a root veggie.
Very high in Vitamin A and a good source of vitamin C.

Vitamin A 769% • Vitamin C 65%  Calcium 8% • Iron 8%

BTW I just got done eating one.

It's a starchy vegetable and you can bracket it in with things like parsnips, turnips, swede, celeriac, sweet potato.... 

A lot of people confuse yams with sweet potatoes. Most of the time, in the United States in the grocery store what is labeled as a yam is actually a sweet potato. Although yams are becoming more readily available especially in the Asian and specialty markets.

There is a difference between yams and sweet potatoes. They are not really even closely related.

Sweet potatoes are excellent you for. One of the true super-foods, along with blueberries and other highly beneficial, nutritious foods.

Yams and sweet potatoes may look somewhat alike but are really very different. Yams contain more sugar than a sweet potato and must be prepared differently. Yams contain certain chemicals that can have negative effects if eaten and not prepared properly where a sweet potato can simply be washed and baked or prepared in much the same way a regular potato would be.

Original Post by littleshellys:

Yams and sweet potatoes may look somewhat alike but are really very different. Yams contain more sugar than a sweet potato and must be prepared differently. Yams contain certain chemicals that can have negative effects if eaten and not prepared properly where a sweet potato can simply be washed and baked or prepared in much the same way a regular potato would be.

 uh oh, how does one prepare a yam wrong? not that they really sell yams over here, just sweet potatoes.

Original Post by octo-luv:

Original Post by littleshellys:

Yams and sweet potatoes may look somewhat alike but are really very different. Yams contain more sugar than a sweet potato and must be prepared differently. Yams contain certain chemicals that can have negative effects if eaten and not prepared properly where a sweet potato can simply be washed and baked or prepared in much the same way a regular potato would be.

 uh oh, how does one prepare a yam wrong? not that they really sell yams over here, just sweet potatoes.

 Not exactly sure how to cook a yam. I eat sweet potatoes all the time but never prepared a yam. Here is a link I found explaining what chemicals are in a Yam. http://web.extension.uiuc.edu/macon/palette/0 61119.html

wow who knew? I read the article and that's pretty dang scarey. I think what I ate was a sweet potato as it's flesh was orange. But I have seen in my grocery store where there were yams and sweet potato's right next to eachother and they were each labeled their respective names but no one has ever told me that they could be dangerous to ones health. It seems the grocery store should post a warning on how to cook them.

Thanks for the link.

I did not know there was a special way to cook them before either. I do believe that most of what you see in the grocery stores are actually sweet potatoes. I went to a local shop a few weeks ago and found sweet potatoes labeled as yams. I eat a sweet potato for lunch several times a week. Check out these links on the benefits of sweet potatoes. I like them because they are very filling and keep me full until dinner. I bake them and cut them into pieces and top them with cottage cheese or salsa or just eat them plain. Very good.

http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=food spice&dbid=64

http://www.rd.com/living-healthy/healthy-food -benefits-of-sweet-potatoes-/article101646.ht ml

http://www.organicfacts.net/health-benefits/v egetable/health-benefits-of-sweet-potatoes.ht ml

you learn something new everyday. & i like to make sure i prepare foods properly especially things like beans & grains. thanks for the info guys, not that i get yams over here anyway, but good to know

  Just a small clarification. The African yam, not frequently available in the US, is the variety that needs additional treatment before eating.

  Oxalate crystals, also found in raw spinach, can cause kidney problems if eaten in sufficient quantity, but with the yam (or raw spinach, for that matter), this is only an issue if, like in some areas of Africa, the yams are a staple of the dietand frequently consumed.

-CD

We had a thread on this some time ago, and as clandaddy says, what we get in North America is a sweet potato.  There are several varieties.  Most are orange, but there are white, yellow, and I believe I've even seen a purple one.  

My carb counting guide shows that a baked sweet potato has 117 calories and 27g carbs, but there's no reference to size.  The same guide shows a baked potato at 220 calories and 51g carbs.  I've got a 57 GI listed for a baked sweet potato, which is fairly high, but low compared to a baked potato at 85 GI.  Net/net, sweet potatoes are high in easy-to-digest carbs, but not as high as foods like potatoes or white rice.  If you're looking for a food with similar flavor to a sweet potato but much lower calories and GI, try mashed winter squash (butternut, buttercup, hubbard, acorn, pumpkin, etc.).

Just some more unimportant and totally useless info for our already too informed heads to absorb.    Have a heart people!

Sweet Potato and Yam Differences

As far as I can tell it really doesn't make a difference.  Do you put marshmallows on your yams or sweet potatoes at Thanksgiving?  And now that you know the difference would you choose the one that is the least expensive, or will you forget by November what you just read?