They say it takes nine months to gain all of your pregnancy weight, and nine months to take it off. That is for most women, not the Gisele Bundchens of the world who strut their post-baby bodies on the cat walk weeks after delivering, or for the fortunate few who claim they lose their mommy pouches naturally by caring for their baby kangaroos. I don’t know any women who fall into the aforementioned categories, by the way, but I swear at them when I see them on TV.

 Given the nine months on, nine months off scenario, I am seriously behind on whittling my behind. My little one turned six months old this week, and I am still plagued with 20 pounds of pregnancy pudge. And carrying around my 20-pound bruiser of a boy simply does nothing but get him from point a to point b. Chasing after my teenage stepdaughter to turn down her iPod  so she doesn’t wake the baby does nothing, either.

 So, I decided to start a diet (PC term: lifestyle change) during Thanksgiving week. Brilliant. Especially for a woman who watches the Food Network religiously, plans her Thanksgiving menu weeks in advance, and looks forward to preparing the meal a little too much (some have workout soundtracks; I have one for cooking). Sure, I already have my cheat day scheduled (Thursday, of course), but I am otherwise committed to regaining some of my pre-pregnancy mojo. Is launching a post-pregnancy diet during the holidays a recipe for failure? We shall see. In the meantime, I will share my simple but outrageously good sweet potato recipe. It’s one of many lovers I will be entertaining on Thursday—for one night only.

 Candied Sweet Potatoes 

Ingredients:

5-6 sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks (they should look like half moons–cut potato lengthwise down the middle, then slice)

1 large box of dark brown sugar

1 large orange, quartered

1-1 1/2 sticks of butter, melted

Method:

Place cut potatoes in baking pan. Squeeze the juice of the entire orange over the potatoes, and place the remaining orange slices in all four corners.

Drizzle entire box of dark brown sugar over all of the potatoes.

Pour melted butter over potatoes/brown sugar mixture.

Bake in a 350 oven, for an hour minimum. You should continually baste the potatoes to heighten the infusion of flavor. You might need to dump some of the marinade out halfway through cooking…but not too much. My family requests this dish every Thanksgiving (and during self-indulgent phases throughout the year). Enjoy!