“Salsa Is A Vegetable” & Other Affordable Food Advice From A Nutritional Psychiatrist

Grocery prices are through the roof. SNAP benefits are coming in here and there, if at all. Food is weighing heavily on the minds of most American parents right now, especially as we wonder how to afford fresh produce and nutritious options for our kids. But as they say, not all heroes wear capes — one expert took to social media to remind us all that some vegetables are cheaper and more well-liked than others, and those count as vegetables too.

Dr. Brooke, a board-certified nutritional psychiatrist known as @cookwithdrbrooke online, recently posted a little chat straight from her car to remind us all that nutrition doesn’t just look like eating fresh greens and guzzling cold-pressed organic carrot juice. “The following are in fact vegetables, even though we don’t always think of them as vegetables,” she says.

She points out that most Americans have long struggled to get enough vegetables in their daily intake, and are having a particularly hard time trying to put food on the table right now. “What are things we can be eating more of, not to be talking about food that is inaccessible and unaffordable to people?”

She starts with pointing out that salsa is a vegetable — actually, a bunch of them, just all chopped up in a jar together. There’s some salt and seasonings, yes, but the bulk of it: all veg. “If you’re putting chicken and salsa in a crockpot, that’s a protein and a vegetable,” says Brooke. She also calls out these affordable veggies:

• Potatoes: A high-carb vegetable, sure, but a vegetable nonetheless. “They have tons of micronutrients, they have tons of fiber. They are nutritionally incredibly dense, and if you are not counting potatoes as your vegetable, you are selling yourself short,” she says.
• Canned pumpkin: If you’re baking with it, putting it in smoothies, or throwing a little in your lattes, Brooke says all of this counts as a little bit of vegetable in your diet.

The comments are full of people offering their own advice for getting fruits and vegetables on the table without breaking the bank.

“People really sleep on frozen veggies too! Often a bag is 99¢,” says one commenter. “SOFRITO! A jar of sofrito is just a purée of peppers, onions, tomatoes, with some seasoning… So if you don’t have the energy to chop up all your vegetables yourself as the base to rice dish or pasta dish, just buy a very inexpensive jar of sofrito,” wrote another.

One comment from another nutritionist said they’d add marinara and tomato sauces to the “it counts as a vegetable list,” while another pointed out that right now is when most stores are running sales on canned vegetables, so it’s a great time to stock up if you can. Shelf-stable options in jars and cans will help ensure the money you put toward your veggies doesn’t go to waste.

However you feed your family right now, we applaud you for making it happen. Hopefully, reminders like “potatoes count as vegetables” help you feel like you’re doing the damn thing despite it all.