How to eat "real food" seasonally and locally... year round

[laceymr]

I have been doing a lot of thinking about food lately and recently read Michael Pollan's 'Food Rules' (with plans to read his other books).
I am now wondering exactly WHAT to eat. I get the theory, but the practice is another story. :
If I want to eat REAL food, it needs to not be packaged, right? Pollan also recommends eating mostly plants. All this has led me to the conclusion that I want to eat locally and seasonally. I live in Wisconsin. So this works May through October, but what do I eat the other half of the year?! :
And another crazy question...what does one eat for breakfast?! Right now I eat basically the same thing every day: a bagel with an egg, a sausage patty, and cheese. Not much in the way of "mostly plants" or unprocessed.
I like pretty much EVERYTHING so picky-ness is not an issue, I just don't have a clue where to begin (especially when winter rolls around).

[Chamomile Girl]

Barbara Kingsolver's book Animal, Vegetable, Miracle does a good job of addressing this issue. She mostly recommends putting food up to eat in the winter. Its a great read anyways.

[cristeen]

Where you start is during the growing season and planning ahead for the cold months. Preserving, drying, freezing, cold storing, etc.

If gardening is an option, now's the time to start planning. If it's not, it's the time to start researching sources.

Where you're located, your options may be limited, and there may be things you can't find local. You have to decide your own priorities then and decide what changes you're going to make to your diet and what you're going to compromise standards on.

[laceymr]

Well we bought a CSA share that starts soon and I am hoping to garden a bit too. We have done a few veggies in the past but this year I want to have enough to preserve.
Thanks for the book recommendation. I will look into it!
It seems like I am getting started at the right time of year, at least!!

[woodchick]

Try to get your hands on a copy of Simply in Season. It is a great reference for eating locally and seasonally and has a ton of yummy recipes!

[Magelet]

Originally Posted by Chamomile Girl

Barbara Kingsolver's book Animal, Vegetable, Miracle does a good job of addressing this issue. She mostly recommends putting food up to eat in the winter. Its a great read anyways.

I was about to recomend animal vegetable miracle. Its a great book for putting stuff up. She and her family spent a year eating pretty much local foods (a few exceptions like vanilla I think), in an area where there wasn't much growing happening year round.