Weeks 8 & 9: Still Going Strong

Hi all! I'm sorry I missed blogging last week. I have a cranky toddler who is teething and didn't sleep much. Poor little guy. Molars aren't fun coming in, but they sure will expand his food repertoire soon! Thankfully, he's feeling better this week.

Right now, Nicholas is about 50% Paleo. He's 14 months old and no longer breastfed. (I wish I'd found the Primal lifestyle sooner or he might still be!) He eats what I do at home for the most part, with the additions of Cheerios and the occasional graham cracker. At daycare, he eats the regular food provided there. I could send stuff in and insist he eat that, and may do that in the future, but I'd rather work on improving the food at home first for my whole family.

Lately, we've had an extremely tight food budget to work with. Somehow we managed to feed everyone and I was able to stay Paleo for just $61 total- stretched out over two weeks! We dug into the freezers, used up the last of the farmer's market produce, and have been trying to polish off the remainder of the garden produce that I cleared out two weeks ago. We've had lots of stuffed peppers, salsa and other goodies! I don't think my family has noticed we were so tight, with the exception that there weren't a lot of snack foods floating around the house. There rarely are, though. We try to keep the fruit bowl filled on the dining room table to encourage healthy snacks.

This week's budget is much better! (I'm still up to my eyeballs in tomatoes, peppers and pumpkins!) I stocked up at Aldi, which is still my favorite store for many basics, and was surprised to find some Paleo-friendly offerings there! For instance, did you know their canned tuna and salmon are wild caught? Or that their milk is hormone-free? Yes, it's still pasteurized (and technically not Paleo per se), but it's a vast improvement over what you get in other stores- and cheaper! I'll be blogging about my finds this week. I found a great blog call the Aldi Spot that follows their prices, special buys and other deals there. It's worth checking out.

I also picked up some hormone-free, antibiotic-free, additive-free steaks from Alwan and Sons Meat Company here in Peoria. They have great meat. It's still grain fed, but a great alternative to the store fare, which is loaded with all kinds of garbage, including ammonia and carbon dioxide. It's crazy what the FDA is allowing stores to put into our food supply, especially the meat. For an eye opening peek behind the food industry's veil of secrecy, check out the movie Food Inc. It's a good introduction to the issues Big Ag and Big Food doesn't want you to know about. (Netflix and Amazon Prime have it for streaming. You can also find it through your local library.) I've pledged to buy my meat locally, from a butcher or farmer as much as possible. I'm still researching the best way to purchase a side of grass fed beef and will post my findings as I learn more.

Anyhow, we made a delicious stuffed flank steak that's "almost-Paleo" (it has cheese and salami in it). It's a family favorite that everyone loves and it's so easy! (I'll be posting that one soon.) I seem to cook a lot gateway meals for my non-Paleo guys, who are quickly becoming converts! They don't mind eating a delicious, healthy hunk of meat along with some veggies. They still snack on grains, which I try not to keep in the house.

My oldest son, who is 21, is really struggling with digestive issues lately. He's always had trouble with milk products, but seems to be much worse. His father also has digestive problems (and refuses to even see a doctor for it, which floors me). I've suggested he keep a food log and read my copy of The Primal Blueprint. I think Mark Sisson does a great job of explaining the Primal\Paleo approach that's liveable. He recently released the Primal Blueprint 21-Day Challenge which I bought (with my Amazon gift cards from my Swagbucks, of course!). I'm hoping these books will help my son to be healthier and happier.

Personally, I'm going strong as I enter my 9th week of Paleo eating and have lost 15 pounds! Allergy season for me is done, and really wasn't bad at all. People have been sick around me for a couple of weeks, at work and home, but I've felt just fine. I am happily 90/10 or 80/20 most of the time. I don't tend to eat things that you'd consider cheats, but occasionally will have rice with my food or potatoes. I am not even tempted to eat wheat in any form, or sugar for that matter. I did have a caramel apple for Halloween and felt sick about 2 hours later. It still tasted GREAT, but I didn't like the after effects. I'll stick with my fruit salads!

I also had some champagne and a small slice of the topper from my wedding cake as my husband and I celebrated our one year wedding anniversary. The cake didn't taste all that great, but I enjoyed the moment and didn't feel guilty at all. Next year I'll make a Paleo cake and knock his socks off! I'm really lusting after a copy of Make It Paleo by Bill and Haley from the Food Lover's Primal Palate website! They have some awesome cakes in there!

I don't know about you, but I'm really looking forward to the holidays this year. Perhaps because I have more energy, I'm not sure. For Thanksgiving, I'm thinking about buying a locally raised turkey from Yordy Turkey Farm in Morton. They are well known locally for having excellent turkeys. Their prices aren't bad either- $2.29 /lb for a 20 lb or bigger bird. I believe they are allowed to run free (need to check but I think I've seen farm tours on the news where they are running all over the place.) They are raised without hormones and are fed grain grown on the same farm. They are also packaged with no preservatives or additives. That sounds like a great place to start, and I can't wait to try them out! Stay tuned!

I hope you all are having a great week! Please feel free to post and tell us how you're doing, what you're working on and what new things you're learning and experiencing!
 Kim :)

PS. The weather has been so blah here, I haven't exercised hardly at all! Time to kick myself in the butt and get to the gym!

PSS. Please note that I don't have an Amazon affiliate because I live in the lovely state of Illinois (which passed an Amazon tax this year). I post links to books I like and recommend. I don't make any money off of them.

Week Seven: The Balancing Act

Hiking with baby last weekend!

It's been seven weeks now since I started eating a Paleo\Primal diet. I'm losing an average of 1.5-2 pounds a week and feeling great is pretty normal. The only thing I wish I could change is my level of stress. Unfortunately, eating Paleo doesn't make stress magically go away. It will make it easier to deal with. For the past two weeks, most of my efforts have been thwarted by a lack of money, time, or ability to complete a thought because either something is falling apart, the baby is taking something apart, or some other crisis has reared its ugly head.

Oh, the joys of motherhood. And work. And life in general. Funny though, I've had plenty of energy to deal with it all. Maybe not enough patience, but definitely energy. I'm finding that I really need to work out to deal with my stress levels. The problem is, every time I bring my gym bag so I can work out over lunch, I get a call from daycare telling me my son has yet another fever and I must not only pick him up but usually have to keep him at home the next day. Argh. That happened again today.

There are just some things from our modern day life we can't eliminate. My job is to troubleshoot problems all day, and I'm pretty good at it. There is some stress that naturally comes with it. There's plenty that comes with being a mother to four boys. And there's quite a bit involved with being married to a mechanic (trust me on that one!) In short I feel like I'm always troubleshooting, day and night!

There's also financial stress that won't go away anytime soon unless we win the lottery. Student loans that being paid back, a debt management plan in full swing, child support, daycare...the list goes on! The bills do get paid. There's food on the table. But never much extra of anything. We're thankful for what we have and know this phase of our lives won't last forever. Some days, it does seem that way though.

On the bright side, I've been researching local grass fed meats and will be blogging about it as I learn more. I found a local butcher called Pottstown Meat & Deli that sells them and I can buy it directly from the same farms as well. This is a nice baby step - I can preview the meats before buying a side of beef. I found a surprising array of local pork, beef, chicken, turkey and even buffalo there! Most are pastured. They also carry local, organic eggs and milk.

They also sell the cheaper cuts of meat, so I was able to make my first grass fed purchase for a whopping $12. I was stoked! I found buffalo neck bones for 1.99/lb and beef tongue for 2.99/lb. I thought about trying the Beef Tongue Taco Bites from Primal Palate that looked good. I'm just hoping I can get past how that tongue looks. *shudder*

I made the neck bones into a beef stew tonight that was pretty good. I'd like to tweak the recipe before I post it, since I think I can get more flavor out of it if I cook it differently next time (forgot to do things like braising first!) I cleared the garden I shared with a friend this summer, and had plenty of goodies to throw in the stew, along with a few farmer's market finds. Yum.

I also cooked up the last of the farmer's market squashes- delicata and buttercup. Delicious! I'll post recipes soon. There's tons more to write about and share, just not always enough time! Where does the day go?

Anyhow, I hope you all are having a healthy, happy and primal week!

Kim :)

Foods for Thought: The Great Disconnect

Since I adopted a Paleo\Primal way of eating, I've been researching alternative sources to conventionally produced foods. Having access to good, wholesome food shouldn't be hard, or expensive, though at first glance it sure seems that way. But as I started to dig, I was surprised by the options in my own backyard that I didn't know existed. I have lived here for over 20 years,. How could I not know about the lady down the road with the fresh herbs and eggs, or the farmer two towns over whose family not only runs a fantastic CSA at a low price, but has published books on the joys and trials of keeping that farm going?


I was also floored by how bad some of my choices really are for myself and my family. That whole grains weren't so wholesome, and some fats are actually good. That so much of what's supposed to be "healthy" breaks down into glucose and keeps us on a never-ending hamster wheel of blood sugar highs and lows that eventually leads to diabetes. 


I had an inkling of how poorly conventional livestock are treated in their short and miserable lives, but I was truly ignorant about the genetically engineered, heavily sprayed corn that surrounds my town and just about every other one in Illinois. I was also ignorant of the plight of small farmers who must either yield to Big Ag and their insane patent threats, or be driven out of business. It's overwhelming at times to even know where to begin to rectify it all.

As I drove by these fields today, I found myself amazed at just how disconnected I've been about where my food comes from, how it's produced and who's producing it. I thought I lived in the land of plenty. In reality, I live in the land of frankenfoods.

Was I stupid or just asleep? How did I become so disconnected from what I feed myself and my family?

1. I believed our food supply was safe. Most of us grow up being told we should eat our food and clean our plate, because there are starving people in China, Africa, or wherever. We are lucky to have food, so eat up. What's important is that we have food on the table, not where it comes from. Right?

But the sheer numbers and sizes of food recalls over the past decade are a wake up call to all of us. Why should anyone- adult or child- die from eating a hamburger or a piece of cantaloupe? Clearly our food supply is not as safe as we've been led to believe.

And repeated requests for transparency in the food industry often go unanswered. In documentary, after documentary, food companies declined even to be interviewed, let alone filmed. What are they hiding? And why should we continue to buy their products if they don't want us to see the basic conditions those products are made in? I would think a company that takes pride in its product would welcome customers with open arms to come see how their food is made. But more often than not, the reality is just the opposite.

2. I believed I was making healthy choices for myself and my family. Who hasn't heard about the evils of cholesterol and the praises of low fat diets and whole grains? How could we possibly know that the very things we were being told to eat might actually be contributing or even the causing our health problems?

A good portion of what we've been told about health for the past 50 years is based on biased studies or misinterpreted data. Sometimes the results were skewed to the viewpoint of  whoever funded the study. How is that still considered research? It sounds more like advertising to me.

Thankfully, there are independent studies and researchers that can't be bought. It's interesting to see what they are finding as they go back through the studies and data for another look. What they are finding contradicts EVERYTHING we've been told for decades. There are some big dollars at stake for the industries who have benefited from the misinformation of the past. You better believe they won't back down without a fight.

Some examples:

• Check out the push back to the recently released book, "Wheat Belly" by Dr. William Davis. The Wheat Council and the Whole Grains Council have practically declared war on the man for suggesting genetically modified wheat may be the cause of many modern day illnesses, including celiac disease, diabetes and obesity.
• Go back through any of the media blowback against Dr. Atkins for daring to say that fat was not making America fat. That it was most likely carbs. Today, low-carb diets are well accepted and there's an increasing volume of independent studies to back them up, but 10 years ago, the media had a field day villifying the Atkins diet. 
• Non-food related: Check out what Dr. Sears has to say about SIDS studies funded by the Juvenile Products Manufacturers Association (the companies that make cribs) and the pervasive misinformation about the family cosleeping, a common practice in many other countries.

In essence, what we've been sold as health news isn't news at all...it's advertising, cleverly disguised as studies and statistics.

3. I never thought about it much. Keeping food on the table is hard enough as an adult. Getting food into your children is extra hard sometimes as a mom. And then trying to keep everyone fed (especially with teenagers!) is a challenge. I'd just point my car to the store, look for the best deals and throw them into my cart without a thought as to where it came from. I am ashamed to say that I spent many, many hours tracking sales, organizing coupons and searching out grocery stores to stretch my money, but not once did I think to spend any time tracing where my food came from, how it was raised, and who raised it. Occasionally I'd throw something marked "organic" in my cart, but that was the extent of it. 

But let's face it, once we step inside the grocery store, most of us are on autopilot. That's not by accident. Grocery store "music" is designed to make us relax and shop longer. Displays and shelves are set up to entice impulse buys. Candies and snacks are set at a child's eye level near the registers to encourage the emotional blackmail that ensues when they see them. Talk about leverage!

Product packaging promotes the idea that everything inside is fresh off some farm. But it's just a suggestion, not reality. Meat and produce are enhanced with colors, solvents and gases to make us think they're fresh and wholesome. Nevermind that the meat may be starting to spoil; and the produce was picked early, artificially ripened and in some cases waxed, then shipped hundreds, even thousands of miles to reach the store, and then left on display for who knows long.

We are deceived and manipulated by appearances and encouraged to let our appetites and impulses drive our shopping choices, rather than our conscience. Information is purposely withheld or convoluted to prevent us from making choices or believing we even have choices! They call this "marketing". They should just call it what it is, lying and cheating!

4. Most profoundly, I was never really connected in the first place. I grew up in the suburbs of Washington, DC. We occasionally drove by a farm, but the only time I ever visited one was on a field trip. The origins of my food were never even a blip on my radar! I discovered a love for gardening as an adult, but mainly as a hobby, not a necessity.

What's sad is that most of the farms around me now are not growing anything humans could eat. The crops must be highly processed or fed to animals before anyone can consume them! Sadly, I never made the connection between the fields outside and my dinner table inside until recently.

Our Legacy 

There's a part of me that's very angry about all of this. I feel like I'm waking up from a bad dream. (Like that Matrix guy that would do anything for a real steak.) I look around and so many people are still asleep. And not just about their food supply. Call them Food Zombies, Political Zombies, whatever you like.


Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain, folks! All is well. Go back to sleep!

But I can't go back to sleep. I'm tired of being lied to, misled and downright deceived. I want the truth- untwisted, unbent. Just the plain, hard, lovely truth in all its nakedness and ugliness and vulnerability. I ache for its simple, powerful ability to shine through all the lies and get to the core of what really matters. Does it even exist any more? Or did we kill it completely for the sake of making a buck and a catchy jingle? I believe it still does, and. I'm ready and willing to make whatever changes it takes to be part of the solution and not part of the problem.

I look at my children and wonder what kind of legacy we are leaving for them. I don't want to leave them a world full of toxins, frankenfoods, debt, and disease. If nothing changes, what will they have to hope for and look forward to? Childhood obesity? Juvenile diabetes? Heart disease at age 20? A drastically shortened lifespan? What happened to wanting the best for our children and how did we end up so far from that goal?

The Greatest Disconnect

Finally, I think we're disconnected from far more than our food sources. We've certainly lost our connection with nature. That's not the price of progress, it's the price of stupidity and arrogance. There are several movements currently attempting to regain that connection, such as clean eating, sustainable agriculture, ancestral health and even veganism. There is a sense of loss in all of these movements (as well as others) and an attempt to restore what's missing.


But the problem runs deeper. We are disconnected not only from creation but from the Creator as well. We forget why we're here and where we come from. We are driven to accumulate money and things at the expense of everything else in our lives. Often too late, we realize they never really mattered in the first place. Somewhere along the way, we lost site of what was really important -our relationships- with our family, friends, planet and Creator.

I think we need to do a huge reassessment of how we live our lives and make better choices, even if they are painful ones. Nothing will ever change if we don't. We'll continue to pollute the earth, our food supply, our children and ourselves with far more than just bad food choices. We'll pollute them with bad life choices too.

With that said, this series is about making better choices for ourselves, our families, our country and our world. To live thoughtfully and leave this earth better than we found it. Big change starts one person and one decision at a time. It starts right now. Won't you join me? Together, we can start a "Great Reconnect".

Quick Update: Foods for Thought Series

I've spent some time this week researching what will be a series of articles called "Foods for Thought". They'll be about our food choices and the food supply- conventional, local, and everything in between. The first ones will be on grass fed meats; how to buy them, where, what's a good price, etc. There's a lot more to it than I originally thought, and it's all very interesting.

But there's also a deeper story at work here, that is touching several nerves (at least in me) about why I've gone Paleo\Primal, and how to practice what I am beginning to preach. I will try to get these articles up as soon as possible, because I do think it's important information. In fact, I think it's so important, that I've actually registered a domain and added another blog to cover the topic in the future if necessary.

But I don't pretend to be an authority. I just want to share my thoughts and what I'm learning and would love to hear yours as well. Please feel free to comment on any post you see on my blog. I don't want this to be a one-sided conversation, especially in the next few weeks as I get these articles up. Some of these issues are tough, but timely. The only way we can change what is going on in our country, and in our world, is one person and one family at a time. And if we don't do that now, when will we do it?

Lots of "food for thought". Please share your thoughts below or on any of my articles!
Kim :)

Week Six: Holding Steady

I'm in my sixth week of Paleo and going strong! I've been at it since September 5th, and have never felt better...at least until Aunt Flo visited with a vengeance. Every once in a while she really knocks me out, and apparently it was my turn (I hardly noticed last month.) In celebration, I've been hitting the Brownie Batter Smoothies pretty hard. Maaaan, are they gooood!

They're a little carb heavy, so needless to say I haven't lost much weight drinking them but haven't gained it either. They are especially good made with butternut squash or banana squash, which I tried for the first time last week. Delicious! I also tried Asian Pears and they are absolutely amazing, especially in a fruit salad.

Not all my new eating adventures went well. I made turnips for the first time ever and didn't peel deep enough. Apparently there is some bitter threshold you must peel past to have the nice, mild, peppery sweet taste they are known for. All I got was a mouthful of bitterness that left me shuddering. I'm trying to summon up the courage to try them again! All of it's great fodder for future articles. I have TONS of ideas (and energy), just need to find the time to write them all up!

Overall, eating Paleo is definitely becoming easier. I reach for fruit and veggies, and try to make sure there's always some cooked meats or eggs on hand. I don't even notice or crave wheat and sugar based items.  And who would when I get to eat such awesome foods? I took a few pictures (below), I couldn't help myself. (Click each one for a bigger picture.)

Apple, Nut & Dried Cranberries	Pears, Figs & Pecans
Pecan-Crusted Fish, Sauteed Mushroom & Veggies	Sticky Chicken, Sauteed Onions & Peppers

I mean, really. With food like this, who wants to eat anything that leaves you feeling bloated and nasty? I eat well, sleep well, and my usually awful fall allergies are barely noticeable. I can keep up with my toddler, who is into everything, wakes me up at night and picks up every sniffle from daycare (I'm working towards getting him as Paleo as possible too!) I work in health care and people are sick around me, but I feel fine. I have energy and smile all the time. If it never gets better than this, that's perfectly fine with me!

Hope you have a wonderful and HEALTHY week!
Kim :)

PS. I'm down 12 pounds since I started and my size 12's are starting to become loose. All while eating these awesome foods! I'm in love!

Found Money: 12 Ways to Fund Your Paleo Lifestyle

Paleo and Primal living can be expensive, but it doesn't have to be. Often, there are ways to either bring in more income or shift existing income from something that is no longer important into your new priorities and values. These techniques can be applied to anything, but I'm going to show you how I'm doing it to support and enhance a Paleo\Primal way of living and eating.

1. Amazon- I have gone through my cookbooks and weeded out the ones that really don't apply. I don't plan on using Martha Stewart's baking bible or a book on artisan breads any longer. I didn't use them much to begin with. As I sell my stash of non-applicable or non-touched books, I'm putting that money into building a paleo-friendly library. I "audition" the books I'm interested in by checking them out from the library. If I really love them, I find them used on Amazon or Half.com and bookmark them. When I sell my old stuff, I buy my new stuff.
2. Swagbucks- You can earn Swagbucks for searching, clicking on ads, filling out surveys, using coupons and making purchases online. They add up quickly, and can be used to redeem gifts cards to places like Amazon and Paypal. Since May, I've earned over $60, which I've used to buy diapers, Paleo cookbooks and Paleo foods. They have quite a selection, and it's an especially good deal if you combine with Subscribe and Save items. (Think coconut oil, real maple syrup, Enjoy Life chips and more.) To earn points, I mostly search, find bonus codes, and click on ads or tv spots. Check them out here.
3. Ebay- A no brainer- your trash may be someone else's treasure. Perhaps you're simplifying and got some knicknacks that might bring in some $$$. I'm a kitchen gadget freak. I'm selling the ones I no longer need- such as my pasta machine. That money will go towards things that will enhance my paleo kitchen- perhaps a mandolin slicer, a new cast iron skillet or a bag of almond flour.
4. Side jobs- Is there something you're really good at and can do for cash? I fix computers on the side. I often get a decent stream of side jobs, but pick and choose since I have a baby and my time is limited. I recently fixed someone's computer and was able to fund my reward for losing 10 pounds- a new pair of Vibram Five Fingers shoes. They retail at $100, don't go on sale (yet), and there are no coupons for them. But they are wonderful shoes, and I'm glad I was able to raise some extra $$$ for my pair.
5. Cut something else-is there another area of your budget you can cut back or eliminate to fund the things you want? In the past, I've cancelled cable tv and bought an indoor HD antennae that gets most of the channels we'd ever want to watch. I've also been able to move over to a company cell phone due to the type of work I do. I've also cancelled my landline and gone with skype for my home phone. These savings were then put into other areas- groceries, Christmas, etc.
6. Barter and Trade- Can you trade services for produce from a friend's garden? Or eggs or meat from a local farmer? No money changing hands also means no taxes to pay! That can save you 10% right there, depending on where you live. Swap kids' clothes with friends who have kids older or younger than yours to save $$$. Several of us are losing weight at work, so we swap business clothes!
7. Get it cheaper- Shop Goodwill, yard sales, eBay and Craig's list to get non-food items cheaper. As I'm losing weight, I fill in the gaps of my clothing needs with clothes from Goodwill. I don't want to spend much until I'm at my goal weight! Last year, when I got married, I shopped there and found all of the suits my sons wore, a petticoat for my wedding dress and heart shaped dishes to put floating candles in. I purchased many of my wedding decorations from Craigslist. We spent very little and had a fabulous wedding!
8. Share-I couldn't garden this year because I'm in a rental, so I shared one with a friend, helping weed and pitching in for seeds, plants, mulch, etc. As I'm researching grass-fed beef, I'm asking friends if they'd like to go in on a cow with me (they call it "cowpooling" lol). 
9. Get it Free-Instead of buying, borrow books from the library, tools from friends, etc. Don't be shy about asking, just put the word out. Just make sure you're willing to return the favor by loaning things out as well. Just don't forget to write them down so you can remember where they went!
10. Do it Yourself- Save money by fixing things yourself, mowing your own grass, shoveling your own driveway, cutting your hair, etc. 
11. Renewable Resources- Invest in items that don't have to be replaced and/or renew themselves. Buy heirloom seeds for your garden and save them from year to year. Use rechargeable batteries instead of disposable ones. Use cloth napkins and towels instead of paper ones (in fact, you can replace most paper items with fabric ones like our grandparents used). Any area where you can eliminate additional purchases frees up money that can be shifted into the things you want. Like grassfed beef! Or farm fresh eggs! Or a CSA subscription!
12. Give- Call it Karma or whatever you like, I believe the Lord blesses those who share. What better way to make more room in your life for more of His blessings than to give to others? Right now, I've been "blessed" with way too many clothes and other assorted items. I am passing them on to those who need them more. I know that every act comes back to haunt me, good and bad. Though this strategy won't raise money, it will free you to enjoy your life more, make more room for the things that matter, and help you let go of what doesn't. The peace that comes from giving is priceless! And it also invites the same thing back into your life- gifts from others of things you need, when you need them.

What ways have you found to afford the things you love? Please share your ideas and tips with us below!

What's In Season: Fall

One of the easiest and oldest tricks for eating well on a budget is to eat in season.Whether you grow your own food, buy it at the farmer's market or shop at the grocery store, you'll often get the freshest food at the lowest price if you catch it in season.

Here in Illinois,our growing season is coming to a close, but boy do we go out with a bang! Local orchards offer all kinds of apples, grapes, and pumpkins for picking. Farmer's markets offer a dizzying array of melons, squashes, greens, corn, crucifers, root veggies and herbs. Many grain and pasture-fed animals are butchered in the fall (as well as spring). And there are so many things available to plant for next year- flowers, fruit trees and more.

If you have a root cellar or cool basement, many fall veggies and fruit keep especially well. You might also consider canning, drying or freezing the surplus to get you through the winter. Those who are lucky enough to have cold frames can keep growing through a good portion of the winter. One of my favorite gardening personlities, Eliot Coleman, does this in Maine of all places! It's a dream of mine to grow things like he does. Check out his book, The Four Season Harvest, to learn more about how he does it. (He has a couple of excellent ones on year-round, organic gardening.)

Here's a list of what's in season in my area (your mileage may vary):

Apples Beets Bell Pepper Berries Broccoli Brussel Sprouts Cabbage Carrots Cauliflower Corn Cucumbers Eggplant Fennel

Garlic Grapes Herbs Horseradish Leeks Lettuce Melons Nectarines Okra Onions Parsnips Peaches Pears

Peas Plums Potatoes Pumpkins Radishes Rhubarb Spinach Squash (winter and last of summer) Sweet Potatoes Swiss Chard Tomatoes Turnips (and other root veggies) Wild Mushrooms

Here are some resources to help you find out what's in season near you, where to get it and what to make:

Websites:
Eat the Seasons
Sustainable Table
Local Harvest
Local in Season
Simply in Season Fruit and Vegetable Guide
Government Fruits and Veggies site
CUESA- Center for Urban Education about Sustainable Agriculture (Excellent site!)
CUESA Seasonal Fruit and Nut Chart
CUESA Seasonal Vegetable Chart
Eat Local Simple Steps
Eat Local Challenge
Primal Toad: Leveraging the Farmer's Market to Save Money

Books:
Simply in Season
The Victory Garden Cookbook
From Seed to Table
From Seed to Skillet
Serving up the Harvest
Eat Local Simple Steps