Gabrielle Chappel's Simple Tip For Cooking (And Eating) More Veggies

Most of us are aware that it's a good idea to incorporate more vegetables into our diets. Whether fresh, canned, or underrated frozen veggies, they add color, texture, and a host of vitamins, minerals, and fiber to meals. If you find it tricky to up your veg intake or are struggling for inspiration, then help is at hand. Food Republic spoke to chef Gabrielle Chappel at the New York City Wine & Food Festival to get some top tips.

For Chappel, the key to eating more veggies is to develop the same sort of emotional attachment to them that people often form with meat. The reason we feel like this with animal-based protein is "we've been eating it our whole lives, and there's a level of comfort to it," explained the Season 3 winner of "Next Level Chef." When it comes to developing a similar level of comfort with veg, "it's fun to be creative with that," said Chappel.

The best way to form a more meaningful culinary relationship is to start — and keep — cooking with different veg. "The more you get familiar with cooking these items, especially as they come into season, the more you enjoy them and the more you get attached to them and the more you develop a relationship with them," explained Chappel. Fresh seasonal produce also tends to be less expensive – and if you want to start experimenting, then Chappel has plenty of ideas.

Gabrielle Chappel's advice for increasing your vegetable intake involves "being curious and finding ways to incorporate plants into each meal." Start by thinking "even if it has meat, how do you add an extra vegetable?" she advised. And it's not just lunches or evening meals that can benefit: Chappel also likes to add extra veggies at breakfast. A recent example included her "sauteing up some napa cabbage with ginger and garlic and throwing that in with [her] grains and eggs," she told us.

For more ways to boost breakfast, use vegetables to make a colorful pancake batter — beets and spinach are ideal. Vegetables make a great addition to morning smoothies — try the simple spoon hack to build beautifully layered smoothies for a rainbow in a glass. Alternatively, try adding bell peppers, scallions, or artichoke hearts to a breakfast omelet, or making savory oatmeal using mushrooms and kale topped with a fried egg.

Keep the curiosity going beyond breakfast by experimenting with new ways to use plants. Perhaps it's by upgrading ramen with canned vegetables (think corn, edamame beans, and water chestnuts), or maybe it's by adding celery root (or celeriac) to your mashed potatoes. It's all about "getting into the habit of adding rather than subtracting," explained Chappel. "You don't have to go vegan. If you want to eat meat, that's fine, but I highly encourage you to just add more vegetables because you won't be sorry."