In the following pages, Kim Campbell, my wonderful daughter-in-law of twenty-seven years, has shared the kind of recipes that I believe are essential to anyone interested in leading a plant-based lifestyle. I’ve sat at Kim’s table for many an evening, eating the very dishes that are in this book. Kim has cooked this way for more than twenty-five years, and she has perfected the art of plant-based culinary cuisine as well as anyone I know.
These recipes have several characteristics. First, they are tasty. Second, they are affordable. Third, a substantial number of them have been used in wellness programs organized by my son Nelson and Kim, and have been proven to be efficacious. Fourth, they are quick and easy to prepare.
After being in the fields of nutrition, biochemistry, and toxicology for so long, after publishing our results in the very best scientific journals, and after being a member of several expert panels to develop national and international food and health information, I have seen much of what is troubling about our health system and what might be done to make it right. I am convinced that the solution begins with food that is tasty, affordable, efficacious, and easy to prepare.
Not only will dining on these recipes create, maintain, and restore personal health, but doing so also benefits our society in so many ways. Controlling health care costs, minimizing environmental degradation, and restoring a sense of stewardship and peace for all sentient beings on our planet come to mind. And on that point, I also encourage you to go, if you have not already, to see the film produced by Kim’s husband, Nelson, and his team, including a producer and writer who were key to the production of the highly successful film Forks Over Knives (which I also encourage you to watch).
Take this book, put it in a place in your kitchen that catches your eye often, and try these recipes. I am confident that you will love Kim’s cooking.
—T. Colin Campbell, PhD
Professor Emeritus of Nutritional Biochemistry, Cornell University, Coauthor of the best-selling book The China Study