About Me

I Believe Everyone Deserves to Know They Have the Power to Change the Trajectory of Their Health

My Dad didn't have a choice.

Hi, I'm Kim Murphy, founder of Simply Plant Based Kitchen, Certified Plant-Based Health Coach, and author of Plant Powered.

This work began with my dad, who struggled with Alzheimer's disease for 10 years before he passed away, along with heart disease and cancer. Watching him slowly lose his health, and eventually lose himself, changed me forever.

When he died, I remember thinking: I don't want this to be my future. So I started researching, and what I discovered gave me something I desperately needed: hope. I learned about the powerful role our everyday choices play in our long-term health, and for the first time, I realized I wasn't powerless over mine.

There was just one problem: I'd tried plant-based eating before and failed. I was a busy wife and mom who didn't love cooking, and most of the recipes I found were complicated or bland. I'd eat plant-based for a few months, then slide back into old habits, until I realized the healthiest way of eating in the world won't help you if you can't stick with it.

So I stopped chasing perfection and started creating simple, delicious meals with normal ingredients my family would actually eat. I lost 20 pounds and more than 17 inches, but what mattered more were the changes I couldn't see on the scale: more energy, better sleep, and the brain fog clearing that worried me because of my dad's history. For the first time, eating well felt sustainable instead of like another diet to endure.

That's why Simply Plant Based Kitchen exists. I want you to understand the science behind how food influences your health, and then I want to help you turn that knowledge into something you can actually live — no complicated recipes, no obscure ingredients, and no expectation of perfection. Whether you're just adding more plants to your plate or ready to go all-in, you're welcome here, because progress matters more than perfection.

I've earned my Plant-Based Nutrition Certificate through eCornell and the T. Colin Campbell Center for Nutrition Studies, along with my Health Coaching Certification from the Institute for Integrative Nutrition, so I can help you take this knowledge from research studies to your everyday plate. I don't just want you to live longer — I want you to live well, for as long as possible, with the people you love. Welcome to Simply Plant Based Kitchen. I'm so glad you're here.

My Before and After

This is me at Disney World in 2018 with Piglet, and BOY did I feel like a piglet.  I hated pictures taken of me for most of that year because my face now looked fat, too.  I couldn’t just hide my body behind people or in baggie clothing!  I was at my highest weight in YEARS and nothing I did seemed to work; I only continued to yo-yo diet and put on more weight than I could take off.  Calorie counting, Weight Watchers, Keto, Whole 30…I’ve tried them all, y’all…

But after re-committing to a Whole Food Plant Based Diet, I lost 19 pounds and 17.5 inches in only 20 weeks!!!  All just by eating mostly whole plant foods!  I wasn’t even 100% perfect all the time, but I tried to keep it to at least 90%.

And I’ve been able to keep it off, without feeling hungry, deprived or counting a single calorie!  And the best part is, I FEEL so much better.  I have more energy, zero constipation, sleep better and the brain fog has completely lifted (which I had been worried about since my Dad’s Alzheimer’s diagnosis).

I’ve slowly transitioned over the past years to be about 99% vegan and 95% whole food.  I cook 100% WFPB at home, but it’s the restaurants and family events that can be difficult to navigate sometimes.  I try to make the best choices possible wherever I’m at, but sometimes the oil, sugar, and dairy can sneak in when you least expect it!

But I’m not going to beat myself up trying to be “perfect”.  Perfection is what caused me to fail at WFPB several years ago on my first attempt, so I remind myself daily that it’s about “Progress Not Perfection”.  This is not a temporary diet, but a long term LIFESTYLE for the best health and longevity possible.

I’m so glad that you are here and I hope that I can help you on your journey to eating more Whole Food Plant Based!  You will discover how amazing it will make you feel, how quickly the weight will come off, and how your health will improve so dramatically.  And it’s NEVER too late!  The power of plants are nature’s best medicine.  Like Hippocrates is quoted as saying, “Let food be thy medicine and thy medicine be thy food.”

My Mission