By Joel McNeece

The average person can burn right at 30 calories an hour just by eating. I guess if you limit yourself exclusively to celery stalks that could be a viable exercise plan, but celery is not on my preferred diet. I choose sweet potato hash.

I didn’t make any resolutions at the beginning of the new year, but with dreams of a trip to the beach somewhere in my future, I recognize I need to shed a few as we wind down what little winter we’ve had.

My wife Lisa and I love to bike. We jumped on the biking bandwagon during a trip to Jekyll Island Georgia two years ago when we pedaled around the island both days we were there. We came home and ordered bikes immediately.

Finding a safe place to ride around Bruce this time of year, however, when it gets dark so early is a challenge, not to mention the fact that we seem to be in the rainy season the past several weeks.

We will be back on the bikes in due time, hitting the Tanglefoot, trails in Oxford, even taking a trip to ride the Longleaf in Hattiesburg, but not until spring weather becomes a little more consistent.

Last week I was visiting with  J.R. Eaton, pastor at Mt. Comfort Baptist Church just north of Bruce, when he told me he’s taken up a boxing workout. That sounds fun, but I recall I have a punching bag hanging in my outdoor shed I purchased years ago that has proven better at collecting dust than right crosses.

I debated kicking off some kind of daily routine Sunday afternoon, but ultimately opted to cook something instead.

The crowd pleaser around our house the past year has been sweet potato hash.

It’s an easy recipe starting with browning your sausage in a cast iron skillet. I always opt for hot sausage as opposed to the mild.

Once that’s done you sauté an onion and then set that aside with the sausage and dice up some of Calhoun County’s finest sweet potatoes and cook them for 10-15 minutes on medium heat.

Toss the sausage and onion back in with a little rosemary, salt and pepper and give it all a good stir. Lastly, you crack a few eggs over the top. I think the recipe called for maybe three, but I always cover it with five or six because I love egg in every bite.

Throw it in the oven at 425 degrees for another 10-15 minutes, basically until the eggs set up, and you have a delicious masterpiece.

It was so divine, I must have burned a good 40 calories eating on it for an hour. That has to account for something.

Joel McNeece is publisher of The Calhoun County Journal in Bruce. You may email him at joelmcneece@gmail.com.