Once you learn how to chop vegetables the rewards are endless. You can add vegetables to your snacks or meals. Vegetables are a colorful way to jazz up your diet while increasing your vitamins and minerals.

Chopping vegetables is an integral part of preparing healthy food for your diet. By chopping vegetables correctly you can jazz up your dishes with beautifully-cut vegetables to place around meat, fish, poultry or other vegetables. Chopping vegetables also makes them easier to eat, which encourages you and your family to eat more, a choice to make if you want to live a healthier life. Each vegetable carries a ration of vitamins and nutrients with the added benefit of a healthy measure of fiber.

There is a special way to chop each vegetable when it comes to preparing your vegetables for a snack or meal. It is best to chop vegetables with safety and efficiency in mind. If you are interested in adding vegetables to your lifestyle and need to know how to cut each type of vegetable then read on for learning how to effectively chop your vegetables.

1. Always wash and scrub the vegetables before chopping them.
2. Chop vegetables with safety in mind.
3. Use a chef's knife to chop vegetables.
4. Use an end-grain cutting board.
5. Cut down with a knife at set intervals.
6. Avoid cutting too fast.

• World-wide transport delivers any type of vegetable no matter where you live in the world. Health Goods: Food Groups However, locally grown vegetables are by far the best vegetables to serve for your snack or meal because they are comparably the freshest and healthiest,which means more vitamins and minerals for you and your family. New York Times: Boosting Health With Local Food (June 6, 2008) Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: Healthy Weight AuthorStream: Different Types of Vegetables (Time: 2:00) Health Alternatives 2000: Vegetable Nutritional Chart
  • Root: Carrots, Turnips, Parsnips, Beets, Radishes,
  • Tuber: Potatoes, Yams, Sweet Potatoes, Jicama
  • Bulbs: Onions, Spring Onions, Shallots, Leeks, Garlic,
  • Stems: Celery, Asparagus,
  • Leaves: Cabbage, Kale, Spinach, Chard, Lettuce
  • Fungi: Mushrooms
  • Flower Heads: Cauliflower, Broccoli,
  • Vegetable Fruits: Tomato, Avocado, Eggplant, Cucumber, Peppers, Squash, Corn, Zucchini

1. Use a solid knife such as a chef's knife.Consumer Search: Kitchen Knives, Kitchen Cutlery Sets

2. A chef's knife is also called a French KnifeReluctant Gourmet: Chef's Knife (Time: 6:33).

3. Proper knife technique will help you finish tasks in less time than it would take to use a food processor.Savvy Vegetarian: How to Use a Chef's Knife

4. The popular knife is known for its broad, tapered shape and a fine sharp edge. The blade on a chef knife can range in length to best suit your specific needs. Reluctant Gourmet: Popular Knife Cooking Cache: Best Chef Knife

5. They run from 6 - 12 inches and measure no less than 1-1/2 inches at the widest point. Articles Base: Chef Knife Review (Time: 3:38)

6. The design of the knife allows you to rock the knife on a cutting board while it cuts food. Cooks Illustrated: Equipment Overview Food Education: Chef Knife

1. The cutting board should be about as big as the kitchen sink. Cooking for Engineers: Cutting Boards Fit Kitchen Sink

2. The cutting board needs to fit in your kitchen sink.

3. Have a smaller cutting board for cutting small items fast. Smaller Cutting Boards: Use Small Cutting Boards

1. Choose a mandoline that isn't too complicated to use. Kitchen Chores: Mandoline (Time:1:30)

2. Mandolines are hand held. Home Show 2008: Julienne Mandoline (Time: 1:50)

3. Other mandolines come with a stand to hold it at an angle. Cutlery and More: Other Mandolines

4. They are also equipped with different sets of blades. Raw Gourmet: Mandoline Plus

5. Use a cutting board or plate to catch the vegetable slices from the mandoline. Veggie Venture: How to Use Japanese Mandoline

• Learn the optimum method to chop your vegetables.Bon Appetit: Knife Skills (Time: 0:40) With the right techniques, you can chop any vegetable into any size or shape.

1. Cut evenly down with the knife at set intervals.
   • Hold the knife slightly above the heel for the most control. Cooking for Engineers: Knife Parts
2. The other hand holds the vegetable being cut.
   • Curl your fingers in toward the palm and the knuckles will support the vegetable while guiding your knife with your other hand. How Stuff Works: Slicing Cucumbers (Time: 2:06) Lifehacker: Chop Vegetables (Time: 1:43)
3. Avoid cutting too fast.
   • Take the time to learn how to do it safely. Metacafe: Chop Like a Chef (Time: 3:26)
   • Pick up speed as you go and become a pro. Chef Talk: Become a Pro

Seeing is believing as you view this colorful and bright online series on chopping vegetables.Expert Village: Chopping Vegetables (Time: 24:00)

1. Always wash and scrub your vegetables before chopping them.
   • Even scrub the root and tuber vegetables instead of peeling them. Morning Window: Scrub Vegetables
2. Each vegetable requires it's own chopping technique.
   • Root and tuber vegetables cut differently than flower heads. Good Food: Root and Tuber Vegetables (Pages: 125 to 127) Expert Village: Chop Broccoli (Time: 2:14)
   • Textures indicates how to cut the vegetables. Cook Think: Vegetable Textures
3. Vegetables chopped and placed right into the serving bowl, steamer or baking pan keeps the preparation time to a minimum.
   • You can chop, dice and cube with speed. Find Articles: Chop With Speed (June 1996)
   • Onion needs to be cut with speed to prevent tears. Dummies: Chop an Onion