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Monday, November 17, 2008

Have you heard of Yacon?

yaconNope I did not mean to say bacon (suggested to me by calorie king when I typed in "yacon") . I really meant yacon! I recently discovered yacon at Whole Foods. It is another super low calorie, high antioxidant superfood.

What does dried yacon taste like? It is a bit difficult to describe but I'll do my best. It is a tuber like the potato, but it has a subtle bit of melon-like sweetness to it (but not too much, nothing close to the sweetness of a goldenberry). The petal-like pieces remind me a bit of a dried apple, but more rooty. :) The best way to really find out is to try it.

Yacon is really low calorie. It comes in powder and syrup form, but I'm really into the dried yacon as a healthy snack. One ounce (which is a lot since it is so fluffy) is 90 calories, 1 gram of protein and 1 gram of fiber. Technically this is 2 weight watchers points, although much of the carbs in the yacon root are in an undigestible form, so it is in reality probably fewer calories/points. Dried yacon is sold by a few companies including Terramazon and Navitas Naturals. I buy it at Whole Foods.

Enjoy!
Juliet

14 comments:

Balance, Joy and Delicias! said...

so interesting! I've never seen it in WF. which section is it?

Anonymous said...

ooooh. I need to know where too!!

Anonymous said...

I've never heard of this before, how interesting. I seriously thought it was gonna be a tofu-bacon thing. Ya know... yams + bacon = yacon. LOL

Anonymous said...

I love yacon root! I think the best way to enjoy it is inside soy yogurt. I let it sit and soak a bit in it before i eat it. You should definitely try that!

LizNoVeggieGirl said...

fascinating!

Elizabeth said...

You can find it in the "raw food aisle". Look carefully, it might be hiding. :)

Joanna said...

i've heard about this stuff on the gone raw website. i want to try it and i'm glad whole foods has it. i had no idea. is it expensive?

Jenn said...

Interesting. Yacon is fun to say, too. ;)

Sweet Tooth said...

wow i love this kind of stuff!!
i really like sweet potatoes..
do yacons taste like dried sweet potatoes?? and how exactly do you pronounce yacon?? like bacon?

Erica said...

Yacon? I have never heard of this. I may give it a try! Thanks again. You know I love these rules!

Elizabeth said...

Hey Joanna: I don't remember how much it cost, but yes, I imagine it was expensive. I'll check the price next time I'm at the store.

Mina: It unfortunately isn't like a dried sweet potato. That would be yummy. It is more rooty and more like a melon.

In terms of how to pronounce it, yacon actually has an accent on the "o" but I think it is more fun to pretend it rhymes with bacon.

Erica said...

Hey girl! Usually I steam my vegis but last night I microwaved ;) Few minutes with about a tablespoon of water=yum!

Carla Spacher said...

I landed here looking for the pronunciation of yacon, but I just have to inform Erica that I recently learned that microwaving your food removes 100% of the nutrients, where cooking them only removes about 50%. 115 degrees or above starts to remove the nutrients.

Anonymous said...

A 4oz bag of Yacon slices is $8.99 S.R.P.

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