 One of the biggest pitfalls of the typical Western diet is the fact that it lacks the amount and variety of plant-based foods that human beings need to protect their long-term health and maintain a healthy weight. The average American consumes less than two cups of fruits and vegetables every day, less than half of the recommended daily intake. So for the majority of people who wish to improve their diets, one of the most important things they can do is to increase their daily consumption of fresh fruits and vegetables. But it's also important that these foods are prepared in a way that supports our health, and that's where knowing how to cook tasty vegetable dishes can be such a powerful skill to have. One of the best ways to start any cooked vegetable dish or any savory dish for that matter is to chop and saute onions in a small amount of olive oil, and if you like the flavor, you can add a little bit of garlic as well. Onions are the basis of so many dishes, and in fact I think one of the great impediments to cooking is people's dislike of chopping an onion, and you just have to get over that. Chopped onions are the first step to an amazing number of meals. From this flavor rich starting point, you can add chopped veggies like zucchini or spinach with a bit of salt and pepper to make a delicious veggie breakfast omelette. You can make a simple tomato sauce by adding chopped or blended tomatoes and a touch of salt, and you can make a colorful vegetable stir fry with almost any vegetable you happen to have in the fridge. Just chop it up, then flavor with some soy sauce or plum sauce or any other sauce you happen to like. There are some safety precautions involved, like keeping your fingers away from the blade of the knife and stabilizing vegetables by placing them flat surface down while chopping. But in reality, the health risks associated with vegetable chopping are probably far less serious than the health risks associated with not eating them. And you don't have to eat organic to eat well. The first decision is to eat those fruits and vegetables, and if you can afford organic great, some organic foods taste better, they all have less pesticide and that's important, but it's less important than the fact you're eating fruits and vegetables. Better to eat pesticide laden fruits and vegetables than none at all.