When the weather cooled off last month and loads of amazing treats started showing themselves all over pinterest, my hibernation instinct kicked in and I began foraging.
Foraging in the pantry, putting together snacky treats under the illusion that if I didn’t compile and consume RIGHT then, the ingredients would somehow grow appendages and walk themselves out of my kitchen overnight.
Or worse: the very well preserved ingredients would go bad before I had the chance to harvest, compile and consume, like the pantry items hadn’t already been sitting for six months prior. Heaven forbid; that’d be unfortunate.
When days are short and dark, there’s really only one logical thing to do: eat. Followed by lengthy pinterest sessions, followed by more eating. Get home from work, fix a fully loaded chili with allllll the fixings and why not have a couple of beers? Sure! Finish dinner, spread some nutella on the ol graham cracker…and let’s be real: we can’t have nutella graham without hot chocolate.
While full-bodied food is fun to make and even more fun to eat, at a certain point, I stage an intervention, sit myself down and admit to myself: I need to wean off before I make a lifestyle as a professional graham cracker with nutella eater.
Weaning off the sugary treats (for me) begins with a great deal of fresh greens interspersed by a ridiculous amount of fruit, topped with a healthified treat. Herein walks the yam topped with honey candied walnuts and raisins.
Very filling, full of vitamins (also, did you know yams contain a higher density of potassuim than bananas??), naturally sweet and topped with goodies.
Funny how I enjoy these healthified treats just as much as the less-than-stellar-for-you options…funny how much better I feel the next morning when I choose something like this over pinterest-inspired molten chocolate a la mode.
This yam is a phenomenal healthy sweet option…as a side dish, as a dessert, as a comfort object. Whichever, whenever, it’s delicious and should be made in bulk on Thanksgiving.
Thanks, yam, you’re a great wean-er (bahahaha!), you can wean me any day.

Roasted Yams with Honey Walnuts & Raisins
Ingredients
- 2 large yams, poked with holes and roasted
- 1-1/2 cups walnuts, coarsely chopped
- 1/2 cup golden raisins
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1/3 cup pure maple syrup, or honey
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/8 teaspoon cardamom
- 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/8 teaspoon salt, to taste
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425 degrees
- Wash the yams and pat them dry.
- Poke yams a few times with a fork, wrap them in aluminum foil and bake them in the oven for 45 to 60 minutes (depending on size. Mine took a full hour). The yams are done when thick juice is seeping out of them and they’re soft when poked.
- Remove yams from the oven and set aside.
- Addremaining ingredients medium-sized skillet and heat to medium or medium high. Stir with a wooden spoon until the pure maple syrup (or honey) is coating everything, walnuts become fragrant and raisins plump up, about 2 to 5 minutes, careful not to burn. Taste mixture for flavor and add more sea salt to taste.
- Once yams are cool enough to handle, quarter them and top with desired amount of topping.
- Serve hot!
- A fabulous idea: give them a squirt of whipped cream or a drizzle of melted butter.
Nutrition Information:
Serving Size: 1 gramsAmount Per Serving: Unsaturated Fat: 0g
Jenn@slim-shoppin
Monday 19th of November 2012
I have to re-visit yams - I keep telling myself I don't like them - but yours look amazing! I may have to change my mind about that!
Heidi @ Food Doodles
Monday 19th of November 2012
Oooh, I love how gooey that topping looks! Yum! I can't get enough of yams and sweet potatoes this time of year :)
Rayna
Monday 19th of November 2012
I LOVE sweet potatoes and this looks absolutely perfect! I've bookmarked it to make this soon.
Rachel Cooks
Monday 19th of November 2012
Love the raisins on these! What a great addition.
Sommer@ASpicyPerspective
Monday 19th of November 2012
Ooo, I would eat that right now for breakfast!