Christa Avampato's Blog, page 10

5 ways to save money and waste less food on Thanksgiving

Photo by Megan Watson on Unsplash

Thanksgiving is 2 weeks from today and menu planning is in full swing. There are strategies you can put in place right now to save money and reduce food waste. These strategies will protect your finances and the natural world. Food prices today are 28% higher than they were in 2019 because of corporate price gouging, and the higher production costs and lower available supply caused by world events like the war in Ukraine.

These ReFED food waste stats about food waste from Thanksgiving Day shocked me:

~316 million pounds of groceries worth $556 million will be wasted on Thanksgiving Day alone in 2024. If saved, this could provide 5 meals for each one of the 47.4 million Americans who are hungry.It took 105 billion gallons of water to make all this wasted food — the equivalent of every American taking 18 showersOver half of the food wasted on Thanksgiving comes from two items — turkey and milk. This is equivalent to 8.2 million whole turkeys. The greenhouse gas emissions from Thanksgiving food waste are 798,568 metric tons — equivalent to driving 190,000 gas-powered cars for an entire year.When the Thanksgiving food waste decomposes in landfills, it will release 5,000 metric tons of methane gas (a potent and poisonous greenhouse gas)— equivalent to the electricity used by 26,000 homes for an entire year. 

Here are 5 ways you can reduce food waste, saving you money and protecting the health of the planet:

1.) Ask about your guests’ food preferences now
Make sure you know everyone’s dietary restrictions and allergies ahead of time. Build your menu around them so you don’t make any dishes that people can’t eat. 

2.) Make everyone’s favorites
While it’s always fun to try new recipes, when prepping for large group meals stick to everyone’s favorites that are likely to be eaten and likely to be taken home by guests as leftovers. Ask them for their favorite recipes or ask them to bring their favorite dish. Share the full menu ahead of time so everyone knows what to expect and so you can catch any dietary restrictions or allergies before the big day.  

3.) Use the free “Save the Food” Guestimator to make the right amount of food
This guestimator helps you estimate how much food you need to make for everyone at your table to be full and happy. It’s free to use, and customizable by number of guests, appetite level of each guest, how many leftover meals you want to have when dinner is done, and the food type (classic Thanksgiving dinner, vegetarian, or a bit of each). It accounts for the main dishes, sides, and dessert. Savethefood has additional great tools to reduce food waste including storage info for different foods, meal planning and prepping, and recipes.  

4.) Plan to give some leftovers to all of your guests to take home
Have lots of containers on-hand so everyone can take some leftovers home to enjoy or ask guests to bring containers with them. You could also ask them in advance which types of leftovers they’d like to take and how much they want to build into your planning with the guestimator tool above. 

5.) Clean out your fridge and freezer
Your fridge and freezer are great tools to save food waste and have food to enjoy in the days, weeks, and even months ahead! Frozen meals, when properly stored (see Savethefood’s storage tool for more info on that!), can last for months and will help you have a nutritious meal in minutes during the busy holiday season. 

All of these strategies and tools can be used for any food gathering you’re having at any time of year and will help you waste less food (and less money) all year long. Happy holidays!

How I support cancer patients and caregivers at Hope Lodge in NYC

Hope Lodge NYC. Photo by Christa Avampato.

On Monday night, I held my first conversation group at the American Cancer Society’s Hope Lodge in New York City. Cancer patients and their caregivers stay there for free while the patients receive treatment in New York. My twice-a-month conversation groups are a safe space where any of the patients and caregivers can come to talk about anything that’s on their minds. I bring homemade baked goods, coloring supplies, and a willingness to listen. On Monday, a lovely group of volunteers from the skincare company La Roche-Posay also provided dinner for everyone so our 1-hour group turned into a 3-hour group.

As a cancer survivor, I’ve been searching for a way to give back and help other people on their healing journey. I love talking with people, hearing their stories, and helping them work through challenges (if help is what they need). I was very lucky to survive cancer and regain my health. This is my way of supporting others as they rise.

What to do when you don’t know what to do

Photo by Eden Constantino on Unsplash

“When you don’t know what to do, do what you know.” ~ Leta McCollough Seletzky

We’ve all had those moments when we just don’t know what to do. I felt that way on the morning of November 6th. Then I read the quote above on Leta McCollough Seletzky’s Threads feed, and it really struck me.

This is what I know how to do:

Be curiousListenSynthesize and weave together informationTell storiesNurture myself and others

It’s no wonder when the reality of the election results set it, these are the exact things I began to do. Now that we’re preparing for a future that’s so uncertain, consider what you know how to do, what you like to do, what you’re good at, and what motivates you to keep going. Do those things where you are with what you have right now.

There will be no shortage of those who need help and no shortage of the things they’ll need help doing. What you know how to do will be needed by someone somewhere. We’re all in this movement together. More tomorrow…

How the Rose of Jericho survives a drought

Rose of Jericho. Photo from https://www.bachari.gr/en/herbs/rose-of-jericho

Do you know the story of the Rose of Jericho, also known as resurrection plant and flower of stone?

When subjected to drought, the plant curls inward into a tight ball. It can survive in this state for several years, losing 95% of its water. As it dries out, it produces a type of sugar to protect its cells from damage. It looks as if it’s dead, but it’s not. It’s just conserving its energy and waiting for more favorable conditions to arise.

If the drought goes on for an extended period of time, the plant may detach its roots and physically tumble to a new location. Once it comes in contact with even a small amount of water, the sugars and accumulated salts dissolve, it re-roots in its new location if it’s traveled, and the plant revives itself, carrying on with life as if nothing has happened.

What fascinates me most is that it produces that sugar to protect itself so it can flourish when the hard times pass. Also, it doesn’t force itself to stay put during difficulty. It takes action. It detaches its roots in search of nourishment and resources elsewhere.

As we look to the days ahead, what resources do you need to take care of yourself so you can flourish in the future? Can you make them? Can you get them from where you are? If not, where can you go to get what you need? These are crucial questions to ask now so we’re able to buffer ourselves during hard times and also be ready to revive ourselves during more favorable times. More tomorrow…

Taking the lighted path one step at a time

Photo by Johannes Plenio on Unsplash

I want to tell you a story about darkness and light. When I was diagnosed with cancer, and when almost died from cancer treatment (twice), it was often difficult to see beyond the darkness. I was standing in the crucible. At one point a lethal, unknown allergy to a chemo drug shattered my lungs and I was suffocating. We were deep in the pandemic in New York City before vaccines. The attending physician wanted to intubate me in the ICU, surrounded by COVID patients. At that time, being intubated was almost certainly a death sentence.

The ICU nurse insisted we try two more types of bedside respirators. “You have 10 minutes,” yelled the attending physician. “If her oxygen number doesn’t go up, I’m taking her to the ICU.” I had 10 minutes to save my life.

The nurse smiled at me. She tried the first machine. We waited. It didn’t work.

The nurse’s smile shrank. We tried the second machine. We waited. I looked at the ceiling. I called my ancestors. They were there. Not to intervene, only to catch me if it was my time to crossover. In that moment, all I wanted was my dog and the people I love. Love was all that mattered. Love was the secret to living, and it took possible death to teach me that.

I looked at the attending’s face. Her eyes grew wider. Her mouth fell open. I looked at the nurse; her smile had returned.

“Holy sh*t,” said the attending. 

My numbers were climbing. The attending left the room.

“I’ll be back to check on you throughout the night and we’ll be monitoring you from the desk just outside the door,” the nurse said as she placed the call button in my hand. “If you need anything, press this button.” 

I nodded. The nurse left the room. My ancestors smiled and walked back over a hill. 

“Not today, Death,” I thought. “Not today.”

When we’re deep in the darkness, we can only see our way forward if we raise our light and take one step at a time. Maybe that’s where you are right now. Things look dark. You can’t find a lamp. It turns out the light isn’t out there; it’s in you and the people around you. We are lights to each other. We can’t see the whole path, and that’s okay. Step by step, we’ll get there, together.

In the days ahead, I want you to hang on to that image of raising our light and being on the path together the way I hang on to what happened to me in 2020 in that hospital room when I was 10 minutes from death. Call your ancestors, friends, therapist, neighbors, religious leaders, and anyone in your community who is a light. We have a lot of challenges ahead to work on together and meeting them is going to take all of us being at our best. Take care of yourself now so we can take are of each other tomorrow. You got this, and I’ve got you. More tomorrow…

Writing is a light in the darkness

I process my grief through writing, and I thought it might be helpful to process all of this together. In the coming days, I’ll share stories that I hope inspire and heal you in the days, weeks, and months ahead. If you need to cocoon and not look at screens for a while, I understand. If you’re looking for something to read that could be a light in the darkness, I want to provide that for you. Please know you’re not alone in any of this. More soon…

Prospect Parik, Brooklyn. Photo taken by Christa Avampato.

How to lead when we lose

Prospect Park, Brooklyn – Fall 2024. Photo by Christa Avampato.

On this difficult day, I have some things to say about gratitude, storytelling and leadership. Hundreds of thousands of people heeded the call ~100 days ago to not do something but do everything to try to help Vice President and Governor Walz win. I’m sorry neither of them took the stage at Howard University last night to say thank you, so I will. I’m abundantly grateful to all of you, and for everything you taught me during this campaign. You showed up, generously giving your money, time, and talents. That means a lot to me. You mean a lot to me.

On leadership:
It was a huge missed opportunity that they didn’t address supporters and the nation last night. Even though we didn’t know the final count, it was important to say something, anything, and then say they’d be back today to say more. We needed them, and they left without saying a word. That’s not leadership. It doesn’t matter how disappointed they were. We’re all disappointed. They had a real opportunity to maintain a connection with people and they didn’t. They went out the back door and sent the campaign manager to talk to the crowd at Howard and the nation. Vice President Harris will deliver remarks at Howard University today at 4pm. That’s too late. They missed the moment. And sadly, tragically, their opponents didn’t. There’s a lesson in that for us, too. Leaders have to lead, even when they lose. Especially when they lose.

On storytelling:
We have to take a long, hard look in the mirror, and at the words we said and didn’t say in this campaign. We need to meet the audience where they are, listen, understand, and work together to craft a better story for all of us. We didn’t do that and the election results show it. How things have been done on campaigns in the past no longer matters because we’re no longer living in the time of “how things are done.” We need better stories and methods. We need to be better listeners and storytellers. Plato said, “Those who tell stories rule society.” That’s true then and true now.

So that’s my focus moving forward – leadership and storytelling. I’ll stay curious, keep learning, improve my craft, and get better. I’ll continue to “be a lamp, or a lifeboat, or a ladder,” as Rumi so beautifully said. I will continue to, “walk out of my house like a shepherd” every single day. I will listen and love. I hope you’ll join me.

This is why your vote matters

These are more energizing scenes from my long weekend of canvassing in New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania with Senator Cory Booker, Sue Altman, Mondaire Jones, and for Vice President Kamala Harris and Governor Tim Walz.

Now election day is here! My heart is full of hope. The great Congressman John Lewis said so beautifully, “Freedom isn’t a state; it’s an act.” So is democracy. So is joy.

Voting is how we reaffirm and recommit to our well-being, to each other, to the world, and for our collective future. It is how we evolve this grand experiment of a country. It is, like our favorite characters in novels and throughout history, deeply flawed and deeply loved. Today is the day we exercise our right to make it better for all of us. Please vote.

Hope is a Renewable Resource

https://www.buzzsprout.com/2053590/episodes/16000698

With everything happening in the world now, hope may feel in short supply. I’ve got something that will help. I had the honor of being a guest on the Art Heals All Wounds podcast with host Pam Uzzell. 

During our conversation, I share my journey from growing up on a rural apple farm amidst adversity to becoming a climate advocate. I talk about my passion for reshaping the narratives and storytelling around sustainability and human design, and how my process of healing from cancer in the depths of the pandemic gave me perspective on healing the planet and the collective responsibility we all share for our planet’s future. This echos what the climate scientist, Dr. Michael Mann, calls “channeling dooming into doing.”

I also make the case for kindness (especially in urban settings), the urgency of transitioning to clean energy, and my plans for fostering environmental restoration, rewilding, and community engagement so we grow stronger together. Thank you, Pam, for the opportunity to talk about everything I love.

Listen to our conversation at https://www.buzzsprout.com/2053590/episodes/16000698

Reduce stress with Fall scenes and relaxing music

Image by Relaxing Jazz Corner

If you’re stressed, I’ve got something for you. I made this YouTube playlist of cozy Fall scenes with relaxing music: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLF8SWzj5Blq3uG2Zgig6jI4lOhefMF5VG

Crawl into one that looks inviting. Take a few deep breaths. Relax your face, neck, and shoulders. These scenes and this music are easy on all the senses. Even a few minutes of conscious relaxation will do wonders for your mind, body, and spirit. After some rest, you’ll bring a whole new perspective to your to-do list.

You’re doing the best you can. It’s okay to rest for a bit. Take care of you so you can take care of others.

Images from https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLF8SWzj5Blq3uG2Zgig6jI4lOhefMF5VG