A Long Week, With a Good Ending!

The last chapter of an experience I’ll always cherish

I started writing this letter last night and am now finishing it up. I got behind in my work this week because I had to set aside my other work to focus on meeting a publisher deadline for the book I’m writing with my father. I didn’t budget enough time for this last phase because I thought it would be much easier than it was—wishful thinking as it turned out. There were lots of edits, some from our copy editors, but many also from me as I looked at what I had written and saw everything that could be made better. That’s the nature of writing I guess—it never seems finished.

Sorry I’m a day late, and also that I’m sitting here writing this off the cuff without much forethought. Perhaps that’s not such a bad thing, though; I think too many things in our world are orchestrated.

Despite being so busy, I ended the week on a high note because I’m excited about how our book turned out. There are three parts to the book. The first two are written in my father’s voice, the third part in mine. My father opens by sharing his life journey and the science he discovered, so the reader can understand what he understood when he witnessed or participated in the dark stories he tells in part two. These are stories of powerful forces that have suppressed the plant-based nutrition message for decades. They involve the media, government, and industry of course, and culminate with two sad tales about how we’ve even traded away the wellbeing of our infants and children for profit.

This leads to a dark place, where it might feel there’s not much to be hopeful about. That’s where I step in, starting from the realities my father unveils through his stories to lay out a provocative but ultimately inspiring and hopeful vision for our plant-based community.

The tentative publication date is June of next year. Between now and then, I’ll share bits and pieces from the book and explore a little more deeply some of its main themes. You may think the book is about nutrition, and it is, but it’s also about so much more. In touches on philosophy, ethics, the environment, economics, government, strategies for making change, and even a bit of spirituality.

And aside from the book, I have long been interested in some of these other topics. I guess many people know me as an advocate of my father’s research and ideas about nutrition, but in reality, my interests are much broader, and I’ll be delving into these other topics in the months ahead.

Next week we’ll get back on course with what I had planned for these first few months. As I explained at the outset, we are launching this newsletter by recounting the story of my father and his research, so this coming Friday I’ll explain the next chapter of his life at Virginia Tech, following his life-changing experiences in the Philippines.

In the meantime, enjoy your weekend!

Nelson

PS: We encourage you to consider upgrading to a paid subscription. Paid subscribers receive more in-depth articles and an eBook each month featuring 5-8 new recipes from Kim – and your support will help sustain this publication.

This past week featured an article on the foundational element of my father’s science philosophy—biological wholism. The next article will begin telling the story of his pioneering lab research at Virginia Tech.

And please share our post to help grow our audience. Thank you!

Holiday Nut Loaf, and a Butternut Squash Hack, by Kim Campbell

This week’s recipe has always been one of our family favorites, and it has also been popular in our immersion retreat programs. Every Thanksgiving, we have a Holiday Nut Loaf as a centerpiece of the meal, and then surround it with other delicious recipes, which always include something made with butternut squash. I love butternut squash, so along with providing a recipe for the Holiday Nut Loaf, I thought I would also share a butternut squash hack.

I was talking with a friend recently about my love for roasted butternut squash, and she said, “Oh, but it’s so much work to peel and cut.” And honestly, she’s right. Prepping a raw butternut squash feels like a weight-lifting session with a vegetable.

Here’s my little holiday hack that will saves your fingers, wrists (and your patience):
Place the whole squash on a parchment-lined baking sheet and roast it for 20–30 minutes. Check it with a knife—once it starts to soften slightly, pull it out and let it cool. The peel will slide off much more easily, and you can slice, seed, and cube it without a fight.

If you don’t want to use the oven, you can do the same thing in the microwave. Heat the whole squash for 2-5 minutes until it softens a bit, let it cool, then peel, remove the seeds, and cube.

Don’t be afraid of the squash! This simple trick makes butternut so much more accessible, and you may find yourself enjoying it all year long. We definitely do.

Here is the recipe for the Holiday Nut Loaf:

https://plantpurecommunities.org/main-entrees/holiday-nut-loaf-2/