I always feel smarter or more enlightened, if you will, at the end of a growing season. There are so many lessons to learn (and sometimes relearn) when you try bending nature to your will.

For starters, a sick creature naturally strives to rectify an imbalance in its health. When finally sprung from its man-made prison, a cooped-up bird hits the lawn like a bug-seeking missile. Often to my annoyance, my sometimes kibble-fed dog goes outside and eats grass when he craves living plant food. Scrubbing the resulting mess out of the carpet feels suddenly less annoying when I acknowledge I created his imbalance by feeding him dead, bagged, convenience food and locking him in the house all day.

What am I grateful for?

For starters, the fine specimen of a turkey brining in the fridge. Wasn't he a handsome fellow? Thanks, Martha and Paul, for the beautiful birds!

I'm also grateful for the many docs, bloggers, and health advocates who helped me get where I am today.

I'm grateful for Jordan & Steve who helped me turn things around when I was sick, frustrated, and stuck. I'm grateful for Dave Asprey, who helped me discover what it feels like to escape the fog and feel bulletproof. I'm grateful for the Jaminets, whose message about balance and moderation in The Perfect Health Diet helped me get over the hump of systemic infection. I'm grateful for Christa Orecchio, whose candida treatment protocol helped me finally drop my prescription meds.

I'm also grateful that, when I want to feel inspired and empowered, I can tune into the podcasts of Abel James, Chris Kresser, Shawn Stevenson or Sean Croxton.

And, of course, I'm thankful for my wonderful friends and family who help me when I struggle and ultimately give me a reason to carry on. Happy Thanksgiving!

Slow-cooking is a great way to cook a healthy and savory meal with minimal effort. I do this a lot during the colder months; the heat from the long, slow cooking process warms the house and fills the air with mouth-watering aromas. Those cold-weather outdoor chores are easier to bear when I know there's a hot pot of meat and veggies slowly simmering in the kitchen.

Slow-cooking is gourmet cooking for people with busy lives. None of us is perfect but there's a whole lot we can do to make ourselves healthier while also supporting a sane and local food system. The most important thing? Keep it simple. How do we break the cycle of being too busy to eat healthy food but being too tired to find the time or motivation to prepare it? Break out the braising pan, of course!

...or dinner?

I kind of love the idea that these pesky little nuts, while downright dangerous under foot, are actually a survival food. After foraging sumac a few weeks ago, I was flipping through Stalking the Wild Asparagus and became captivated by the idea of turning acorns into dinner. I was probably six-years-old the last time I tried this experiment, and there was certainly no salt, butter or simmering involved. Needless to say, my past taste tests were as discouraging as they were ill-informed.

I was recently at my two-year-old nephew's backyard birthday party (dressed as Paul Bunyan, of course) when, suddenly, I was surrounded by acorns. Far too enterprising to pass up the bounty, I fetched a grocery bag from the car and started scrounging. It's amazing how expressing enthusiasm, regardless of the focus, garners the attention of curious onlookers. It wasn't long before several of these onlookers, including 95-year-old Grandma Helen, joined in the foraging fun. After a few short minutes I had more than enough acorns for my experiment...maybe even enough to survive the winter...

You can be sick of traveling, but there's just no need to travel sick.   I was in Tampa for a few days and didn't want to risk eating restaurant food...so I hit up the local supermarket and got to work.  I say work but I'm that oddball who actually enjoys a challenge like clarifying butter in a hotel bathroom.

The whole process took about 15 minutes and left me with two cups of clean grass-fed butter to get me through a busy long weekend.

Think of tired apple branches sagging under the weight of ripened fruit, swollen root vegetables that have diligently stored every last bit of solar energy before their supposed long and restful winter...

Whether you are a farmer or a grocery store forager, fall is harvest time and, while the ingredients in this simple soup recipe are easy to find year round, they are at their best right now.

The fresher the ingredients, the better the result--but worry not, you don't need carrots that look like they were plucked from the cover of an organic gardening magazine, the plain old orange kind work just fine. I found this bunch too good to pass up. If you suddenly find one yourself within reach of a similar one I recommend snatching it up at once. If you then find yourself with twenty spare minutes and a desire for a delicious meal, here's a suggestion...