Interview: Abby Cannon, RD + Sustainability Expert
I’m so excited to share my first interview Q&A on this site! As a RD to-be, I follow a ton of registered dietitians and health experts on social media, but Abby has stood out to me in such a big way. She has truly immersed herself in the sustainability aspect of nutrition, which not many have ventured to do. I have been following her for quite some time now and her passion for low waste & nutritious eats shines through everything she does. She is such a wealth of knowledge and I couldn’t be more excited to feature her here!
I’m Abby, an attorney turned dietitian who lives a very low waste lifestyle. I make healthy, sustainable living approachable, doable and fun.
What is Abby’s Food Court? What are some of the reasons you decided to create this platform?
Abby’s Food Court is a private nutrition practice and a website/blog. I work with clients one-on-one as a dietitian to help them reach their health goals, including general wellness, plant based nutrition, healthy weight loss, and fertility/prenatal nutrition. I incorporate sustainability principles to enhance my clients success! I use my website/blog, Instagram account, and newsletter to share about healthy, low waste living! I created my practice and platform to make this lifestyle seem approachable, doable and fun. We can all make small changes and they all add up. I want to motivate and inspire people to want to make these changes and to actually make them!
You started your career as an attorney and made the transition to become a RD – where did your passion for food & nutrition stem from?
Throughout college, law school, and in my first job as an attorney, I had a very unhealthy lifestyle. I was incredibly stressed out, not eating the most nutritious foods, and not exercising. I made a few improvements to my lifestyle during law school, but when I was practicing law, I knew I needed to make bigger changes. I started researching nutrition and wellness and worked on myself to improve my health and to help me manage stress. My passion was born from there!
When did you know it was time for a change, how did you prepare for it, and what goals did you have in mind for the future?
I knew it was time for a change when I couldn’t stop thinking about nutrition and kept day dreaming about having my own practice. I had taken some online courses to make sure I was actually interested and I loved the material. I started as a full time student with chemistry classes, knowing that if I didn’t like them, this path wasn’t for me. Becoming a dietitian is really science heavy and you really need to love the science. Luckily I did and then I knew I was (finally) on the right path! When I started studying nutrition, I thought that I would go into corporate wellness, but later found that sustainability and a private practice were my true passions.
You have a very unique & special niche within the nutrition world with your focus on low-waste and eco-friendly practices. Did you always have a passion for this, or did it develop later in your life?
Yes! My family was always environmentally conscious and my parents engrained in me that I needed to do my part to care for the planet. We had a compose, recycled diligently, and, for many years, my dad even rode his bicycle instead of driving a car to reduce his footprint. I started a “Go Green” award in my sorority at Penn and always loved sharing my passion for the environment. When I learned about zero waste and low waste living, first from Lauren Singer, I couldn’t believe how much more I could be doing. I started to adopt zero waste living principles and became more and more fascinated and committed to this lifestyle. It blends perfectly with healthy eating because the diet best for our health is also the best for the planet!
What advice would you give to someone who is new to the low-waste life and is looking to make the transition, but finds it very overwhelming?
Sign up for my newsletter! I pour my heart and soul into it and I share one tip each week that is totally doable! It gives you one thing to focus on and to think about. Breaking the lifestyle (or any change!) into small pieces is the only way for long lasting change.
What are 3-5 easy tips that people can change in their daily routines to become eco-friendlier?
Love this question! 1. Use reusable silverware (my favorite is my bamboo silverware set!). I bring the set with me wherever I go so I never need single use plastic cutlery;
2. Use a reusable coffee cup. Coffee cups are not generally recyclable because they have a plastic lining (which can leach chemicals into your drink!) This bamboo eCoffee cup is my favorite!
3. Use a reusable water bottle with a GoPure Pod water filter so you feel confident filling up your water from anywhere! NO need for plastic water bottles!
You’re a big fan of shopping local – how does this correlate with your eco-friendly & low waste philosophy? What are some of the benefits?
On average food travels at least 1,500 miles to get to us. The transportation requires more energy (fuel) and decreases the nutrient value of the food. We want to eat food as local as possible for optimal nutrition and lowest impact; local seasonal food has also been linked to better gut health. Additionally, most farmer’s markets don’t use plastic! So, you can get amazing and fresh produce without plastic.
I love your “shop naked” mantra! Can you explain what this means and how everyone can jump on board?
Thank you so much! Yes! This is my favorite concept. I encourage my clients and community to shop naked, which means buying food that is plastic and package free aka “naked.” For example, instead of purchasing kale pre-washed and cut in a plastic bag, purchase it loose. I rarely buy any produce, nuts, seeds, grains, pastas, dried fruit in plastic. I get them all loose or from the bulk section with my own bags. It’s as easy as not purchasing produce in plastic and using cloth bags or jars or just throwing the loose produce right into your cart. Trust me, your avocado (that has traveling thousands of miles to get to you) will make it home without being wrapped in plastic!
You’re also a queen at meal prepping – can you provide a few tips for people who struggle with meal prepping and how to make it a little easier?
Start with roasting your favorite vegetables and making one whole grain for the week. Then add the veggies and grains to your meals. You don’t have to make elaborate meals that are Instagram worthy! Most of my meal preps are of different components that I then throw together in different combinations for the week.
What are some of your goals for Abby’s Food Court in the future? What can we expect to see?!
I want my private practice to thrive because I’m a really good dietitian! Sometimes I get so caught up in low waste living on my Instagram and blog that I forget how good I am one-on-one. I want to help transform more lives with my philosophy and practice! I also want to create amazing campaigns and resources for my Shop Naked and Snack Naked philosophies! I want to get people really excited about being healthier and reducing waste!
