By Eve Adamson

It usually goes something like this:

I will lose 20 pounds!
I will finally get in shape!
I will eat better!
I will be more environmentally conscious!
I will cook for my family more often!
I will spend more time with my family!
I will stop ordering pizza and eating fast food!
I will save more money!
I will enjoy life more!
I will be better about helping others!
I will be a better person!

Whether you scribble your resolutions into a journal or post them on the refrigerator or just repeat them to yourself in your head as the New Year approaches, you have probably made New Year’s resolutions before. According to the University of Scranton Journal of Clinical Psychology, 45% of Americans usually make New Year’s resolutions, and although 75% of resolutions are maintained through the first week, the number drops significantly with each passing week, so that by six months, barely anyone is sticking to it. A lot of people don’t even remember what their resolution was anymore by June. Bummer.

Yet, I love New Year’s resolutions. I think they are sweet signs of optimism. They prove that people still want to better themselves, and believe they can do it, no matter how many times they fail. I even think my own New Year’s resolutions are adorable. Lose 20 pounds? Aww. That’s so cute, the way I keep thinking I’m going to do that!

But every year’s experience begs the question: Why is it so hard to execute a perfectly reasonable decision to do something good for yourself, like get healthier or spend more time with people you love? The problem, says many an expert, is that our resolutions are either too various, and/or too lofty. We set too many goals and we lose track. We also set goals that are a little bit too difficult—just outside the realm of reasonable.

But what if I told you that just one simple resolution could accomplish just about every resolution I’ve listed at the beginning of this article, all in one fell swoop? Eleven resolutions in one? And what if I told you that one single resolution could actually be easy?

When you focus on one resolution instead of many and that one resolution is something you can actually do, you are about a zillion times more likely to stick with it (that’s the official statistic—a zillion).

What could this magical and powerful resolution be? Are you ready for this? It’s kind of radical, so maybe you should sit down. Here goes: This year, I will eat mostly whole food.

Wow. I know, right? You have to admire the simple elegance. This one resolution is powerful because you don’t have to think about all those other things you want to do, and yet, they will all start to happen, just because you are eating whole food. Let me explain:

I will lose 20 pounds!
The number might not be exact, but whether you need to lose 20 pounds or 10 pounds or 5 pounds or 50 pounds, you’ll start moving in the right direction when you eat mostly whole food. Whole food fills you up faster than packaged food. It’s also more nourishing, so your body feels like it actually ate a meal and you aren’t as hungry later. The more you get into the whole food habit, the more your bad eating habits will fall away; you’ll feel better, and your weight will normalize. Sure, there are overweight whole food eaters. If you eat too much whole food, then you might remain a bit broader around the middle. But while you can probably imagine eating too much candy or too many doughnuts, not very many people binge on apples or carrot sticks or home-roasted chicken with brown rice. Try it. You might find it’s the easiest way you ever lost weight.

I will finally get in shape!
When you eat whole food, you are better nourished, so you feel better, you have more energy, and you are more likely to feel compelled to move your body the way nature intended. Simple.

I will eat better!
Whole food = eating better. Done and done.

I will be more environmentally conscious!
Whole food, especially if it’s locally produced and/or organic, is much kinder and less invasive to the environment than packaged food churned out in a factory and packaged up in lots of cardboard and plastic.

I will cook for my family more often!
You can eat a lot of whole food raw, like fruits and vegetables, but you’ll likely want to cook some of it, especially in the chilly weather. Roast meat, boil and mash potatoes, steam veggies, stew fruit or bake it into pies. You don’t have to spend hours every day. Cook on the weekends and store foods for the week, or just whip up simple things during the week—a big salad, turkey soup, rice and peas. It doesn’t take long to throw a few potatoes in the microwave and broil a couple of steaks. The more you do it, the better you’ll get at it, and it really can be fun. Consider it your new hobby (you were thinking of adding, Start a new hobby to your list, weren’t you?).

I will spend more time with my family!
Eating dinner at the table with your family is one of the nicest ways to bond. Even if the teenagers complain, all you have to do is say, “No, Junior, you are not eating your dinner in your bedroom while playing that video game. Your mother needs to be able to look you in the eye for at least 15 minutes per day to make sure your brain isn’t fried.” Meanwhile, teenagers are always hungry because it’s exhausting battling all those virtual aliens and doing homework and friending people on Facebook, so they might even gulp down the vegetables. It’s win-win.

I will stop ordering pizza and eating fast food!
The more you gain a taste for real, whole food, the more the taste of cheap fast food loses its appeal. Sure, we all order a pizza every now and again, but it’s what you do most of the time that counts.

I will save more money!
Whole food is cheaper. They say it’s not, but it is. Fresh veggies and fruits are cheap in season and frozen veggies from the off season can still be your friends. Whole poultry and roasts are cheaper than pre-made frozen dinners when you figure how much meat you get for your dollar. Buy staples in bulk. Rice, beans, nuts and seeds, oatmeal, flour, even special treats like local honey and maple syrup and almond butter—the bulk bins are bargain central.

I will enjoy life more!
When you’re feeling better, losing weight, exercising more, eating better, and spending more time with your family, not to mention saving money, how can you not enjoy life more?

I will be better about helping others!
Feeding your family whole food is a great way to help others. Buying local, organic, and/or fair trade products helps others in ways you might never even consider. It’s a ripple effect.

I will be a better person!
Define better: Happier? Nicer? Healthier? If that’s what better is, then sure. Whole food will do you right.

So there you have it: One resolution. You can do that, right? Just the one. It’s all you need, and it can and will transform you if you let it. Whole food is that powerful.

Best of all, you can really stick to this one. It’s reasonable and realistic. Let’s do it together. We’re going to have a great year. I can already tell.

This article originally appeared on Co+op Welcome to the Table.

Littleton Food Co-op is working with locally-owned Pearl Lake Distributors to bring Cooperatively-sourced Organic Italian wines to our shelves. Cantina di Montecarotto (shortened to Moncaro) was formed by some family farmers in 1964 to share resources and growing techniques. Eventually they opened what is now the original Moncaro winery in the 70’s, and have since expanded to 3 wineries.

Traditionally, most farmers would own a few acres of their own vineyards, which were then harvested to make wine at home. By banding together in a co-op, the farmers could instead sell their own grapes for a good price, working their own land and being paid fairly for their work.

Each farmer family in the co-op gets one vote, whether they own 1 hectare or 1000. (Most own 1 to 2 hectares, with an estimated 1,000 owners.) Each year, co-op owners sell all their grapes to the co-op, which is committed to buying them. Quality standards determine the price, which is higher than the market price. The owners elect a board to run the co-op.

Moncaro farmers have been cultivating organic grapes since 1980. The co-op works on innovative projects to help the environment in collaboration with the University of Ancona; current projects include studying new cultivation techniques (using seashell extracts in place of copper on the fields) and finding new production techniques to reduce the use of sulfites. They use an innovative system to recycle waste water and also recycle other materials, and use renewable energy at the winery. And they are certified as a socially responsible work environment.

We have a few varieties of Moncaro wines in the Co-op now and we’ll be adding more as time goes on. This is yet another way that your Co-op works with other Co-ops to help small family farms survive! Stop by and taste some of these wines at the Littleton Food Co-op on Saturday December 21st from 12-3pm.

If there’s one plate of food that says “party,” it’s the cheese platter. Enticing and satisfying enough to carry a celebration on its own, the cheese plate is also the perfect attraction for introducing guests to one another before the main course.

Putting together a spectacular cheese platter is easier than you might think. Here are a few tips:

The cheese platter

Serve cheese at room temperature. The cold from the refrigerator inhibits its flavor, so take your cheese out half an hour before guests arrive to allow it to “bloom.”
Provide a serving utensil for each variety of cheese on your tray.

Serve a selection of three to five contrasting cheeses. Think different tastes, colors, and textures, like mild with robust (like Brie with blue cheese), fresh with aged (like Boursin with aged Gruyere), or soft with hard cheeses (like chevre with Parmesan).

Create a themed tray by offering cheeses from one region or source, or showcase an array of cheeses made from different milks (cow, goat, sheep).

Accompaniments

Whether you serve them individually or on the same platter, some foods are perfect complements to cheese. These include:

• Fresh and dried fruits
• Crostini, flatbread, and other crackers
• Hearty and crusty breads
• Olives
• Nuts
• Honey

To create an antipasto platter, include a mix of marinated vegetables and cured meats.

Wine and beer cheese pairings

In general, a wine that comes from the same geographic area as the cheese will be a good match. Here are some other pairings:

• Goat cheeses and dry red wines
• Cheddars with sweet wines and pale and brown ales
• Fresh, medium, and hard cheeses with crisp, fruity red or white wine
• Cheeses with bloomy rinds (like Brie) and fruity red wines or light, dry champagnes
• Swiss cheeses with dark lagers, bocks, and Oktoberfest beers
• Feta and wheat beers
• Sweet cheeses with fruity beers

Check out the cheese offerings—especially any local cheeses—at the co-op! And if you’re feeling overwhelmed by the array of choices, just ask the staff for recommendations (including wine pairings). Then just sit back and wait for the doorbell to ring—your celebration will be off to a flavorful start!

This article originally appeared on Co+op stronger Together.

By Megan Dorn, from Co+op Stronger Together

I’ve always loved pie, in particular my Aunt Susie’s apple pie. When I was a kid she would bake one, wrap it up and give it to me for my birthday. Did I sit around the dinner table and share the delicious pie with my family? Absolutely not. I would literally hide it under my bed, devouring a slice before school, another after school and usually one more before bed…then repeat. That’s how good it was (and still is!).

Pie is one of those all-American, all-seasons treats that is always better homemade. It is also incredibly versatile. The size, shape and design can be tailored to the baker’s own liking and creativity and the fillings can be easily changed to reflect the ebb and flow of the seasons.

The 3:2:1 pie dough ratio

To my delight, when I was in culinary school, how to make a proper pastry crust was the very first skill I learned. The most flaky, tender crust comes down to a simple 3:2:1 ratio of ingredients—flour, fat, water— no actual recipe needed. Once I understood 3:2:1 pastry crust (which isn’t hard, I promise) I had the foundation for not only pies, but also tarts, galettes, pot pies, hand pies and more.

The “3” in this ratio is flour. I like to use pastry flour because it contains less gluten than all-purpose flour and therefore creates a more tender crust, but all-purpose flour will work just fine if that’s what you have on hand. The “2” is fat. Butter is the most common type of fat used, but other solid fats will work as well. Lard produces some of the flakiest crusts I’ve ever tasted and I’ve successfully used coconut oil to create a vegan crust. I’ve even substituted chicken or bacon fat for a portion of the fat amount in savory applications. Whatever fat you choose, it must be cold and solid (no liquid oils as they don’t create the necessary air pockets for a light, flaky crust). The “1” is ice cold water. Not much to explain here, but I will say that I dissolve about 1/4 teaspoon of salt per batch to make the water extra cold.

So, now what? The amounts in the 3:2:1 ratio refer to the weight (e.g. 3 oz. flour, 2 oz. fat, 1 oz. water). With those exact measurements you could make a pie crust, but it would be quite small. To know exactly how much dough you need you must first know how big your pie pan is. A basic rule of thumb: one inch of pan equals one ounce of dough. Since all of my pie pans are nine inches, I almost always say that one batch is nine ounces, giving me the following recipe.

Pie dough recipe by weight:
4.5 ounces flour + 3 ounces fat + 1.5 ounces water + 1/4 teaspoon salt = 9 ounces

How did I come up with those amounts? There’s a little math coming your way, so bear with me. We need a total of 9 ounces, and we’re dealing with 6 parts total (3 parts flour + 2 parts fat + 1 part water), so:

9 oz./ 6 parts = 1.5 oz./ per part

Which means:
3 x 1.5 oz = 4.5 oz flour
2 x 1.5 oz = 3 oz. fat
1 x 1.5 oz. = 1.5 oz. water

And that’s your recipe. If you’re making a pie that requires a top crust, just double the recipe

I was never a star student in math class, so if you need to digest that a bit, I totally understand. Take a moment…

So what if you don’t happen to have a kitchen scale? Never fear. One cup of flour weighs roughly 4.5 ounces. How convenient! And 1 ounce equals 2 tablespoons. With this in mind, here’s the same recipe as above for a single batch.

Pie dough recipe by measurements:
1 cup flour + 6 tablespoons fat + 3 tablespoons water + 1/4 teaspoon salt

How to mix pie dough

Now let’s talk method. The most important step is cutting the cold fat into the flour. If you don’t do this, you’ll lose the flakiness, which, for me, makes pie worth every single calorie. The easiest way to do this is with a food processor. Add your flour and then your cold fat (cut up into smaller tablespoon-size chunks). Now pulse the machine until the mixture creates pea-size pieces of fat evenly distributed throughout the flour. With the machine running, stream in your water until the mixture forms a dough. You may need to add slightly more water if your mixture is too crumbly, but don’t add too much more or your crust will turn out tough. A little crumble is what you’re looking for and the uglier the dough, the better it tastes.

If you don’t have a food processor, you can cut your butter using a pastry blender, two butter knives (using the simple scissor cut method). Just put your flour in a bowl, add your cold butter or other fat and start cutting away until you get those pea-size pieces. Then make a well in the middle of your mixture, add your water and combine by hand until a dough forms.

Done!

Chill pie dough before using

Well, almost…if you’re just making a single batch, form the dough into a disk, wrap it up and place it in the fridge to chill for at least an hour. If you’re making a double batch, divide the dough in two and do the same thing. What do I do? I make a gigantic batch (usually six or seven at a time), wrap them up tightly in single, nine-ounce disks and keep them in the freezer for future use. When you need one, pull it from the freezer and thaw it in the refrigerator overnight.

How might you use your fabulous pie dough? Here are some tasty pie and tart recipes to whet your appetite.

This post originally appeared on the Co-op Stronger Together website.