31/07/2026
You won't think twice before serving pasta—a refined, processed food—for dinner.
But if yam is suggested, a natural whole food, for the same meal, you'd say it's "too much," "too heavy," "it'll make me bloated."
One of the biggest lessons professional kitchens taught me was STANDARDISATION—making sure every decision is based on a real, consistent standard, not guesswork or habit.
If our standard is simply what we've become used to hearing, then it isn't really a standard at all.
Here's the real standard: pasta is refined—stripped of most of its natural fibre during processing. Yam is whole and unprocessed, still carrying the fibre and nutrients nature put into it.
So if our standard is whole foods over highly processed foods, yam should be the easier one to feel good about eating for dinner. Instead, it's the one that gets side-eyed.
No pasta slander here. 😄 I actually love pasta, and I can beat my chest that I make one of the best pasta dishes. 😊🤭
But this was never really about yam versus pasta, but the standards we've accepted.
Some local whole foods have spent years being labelled "too heavy" or "unhealthy," while more processed alternatives are rarely questioned simply because they've become familiar and normalised as modern.
I hope the next time yam comes up for dinner, you won't frown at it.
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💜 Share this with someone who's ever said, "Yam is too heavy for dinner."