Glass storage containers don't leach chemicals into your...uh...food.

RODALE NEWS, EMMAUS, PA—It’s one week into 2009—so how’s it going with your resolutions to lose weight, save money, shape up, spend more quality time with family and friends, and give up every bad habit known to man? Not so good? This week, the Nickel Pincher offers some lean, green, keepable resolutions that will help you shape up, slim down, enjoy more good health, and—need I say it?—save you some bucks and shrink your impact on the planet.

Stop eating plastic.
It’s self-evident that storing your leftover food instead of trashing it makes both economic and ecological sense, right? But plastic food containers can leach chemicals that may be bad for your health into your food and beverages. And some of those chemicals may even make you more prone to gain weight. Sure, certain types of plastic may be less bad than others. But I can never remember which ones, and it seems as if scientists are always finding out that one of the “safe” ones actually isn’t so safe. So I’m in the process of pitching all my plastic containers into the recycling bin as I replace them with glass, china, or stainless steel. And I don’t plan to replace my rolls of plastic wrap once they are used up.

You can spend a bundle on reusable storage containers, but you can also get them for free or quite inexpensively. Scope out the shelves at the supermarket for products you need anyway that come packed in glass. Some of my favorite food-storage containers once housed premium canned tomatoes! They hold about a cup and a half, are squared off so they fit into my lunchbox, fridge, and cupboard compactly, and they have a ring of sealant in the lids for a spillproof seal. I’m also partial to canning jars—especially “wide-mouth” ones—which you can buy in boxes of 12 for about a dollar per jar. Keep your shelf life simple: Save or buy jars that all use the same size lid. Store your leftovers and portable meals in glass jars and you will make less trash, save dollars on disposable containers, and keep toxins out of your food.

Be less meat-centric.
Want to slenderize, clean up the planet, and save some dough, all at the same time? Buy half as much meat as you usually do, and spend some of the money you save on organic fruits and veggies. Serve smaller portions of meat, try meatless dishes from the Rodale Recipe Finder, and reserve your meat budget for high-quality, organic meat that gives you a tastier bang for your buck. Eating more fruit and vegetables is not only a proven way to reduce health risks and lose weight, it also reduces support for confinement animal-feeding operations (CAFOs) that produce more than their fair share of greenhouse gasses.