The New Year seems to be a time when people feel most inclined to change. As 2009 gets underway and you begin thinking about ways that you can better your lifestyle, try to also think about how you can contribute to bettering our environment. Here are three easy ways to begin eating better in 2009, while at the same time helping our environment stay healthy too.

Stay Close to the Earth

Shop the perimeter of the supermarket, choosing foods close to the earth. Try to avoid foods that come in boxes, plastic wraps and cans as well as foods that are processed and refined. Aim to replace refined sugary foods with fresh fruits, low-fat dairy products and nuts and seeds. Shopping in and only eating foods from the perimeter or the outside edges of the supermarket and avoiding the depths of the cookie aisle can create significant changes in your waistline as well as your overall health.  

Make Sure Not To Go Too Far From Home

As you shop the perimeter of the supermarket for healthy and fresh foods, look for and aim to buy organic fruits, veggies, meats and other products. If organic is a little too expensive, try to buy as many items from farms in your local area. Look for signs at your supermarket or talk to the manager about where the foods being sold are coming from. Are the tomatoes from a local farm an hour away or are they from South America? Buying local means buying any food, good or service that is produced, grown, or raised as close to your home as possible. According to Center for Sustainable Agriculture, the average fresh food item travels 1,500 miles to get to our supermarkets. Buying local helps us avoid using products that need a lot of fuel to transport them from far away and in return helps us fight against global warming. If your supermarket isn't offering organic or locally produced foods, try your nearest health food store, food co-op or farmers' market.

Make Sure To Bring Your Own Food With You

After you fill up your grocery cart with fresh organic and/or local foods, check out lime.com/food for healthy and delicious recipes to try at home. Make sure to cook a little extra for your brown bag lunch the next day. Brown bagging your lunch and using Tupperware helps to eliminate the overuse of plastic wraps and Styrofoam containers that pollute our earth and flood our landfills. Bringing your own food enables you to know exactly what and how much you are eating. Taking lunch to work rather than buying what you think is a “healthy” salad in a plastic container will not only save you money in this tight economy, it is also one of the easiest ways to ensure a healthy calorie-conscious lunch.