I Joined the Club

I’ve heard from many people who love the big discount warehouse stores – especially Costco. Until recently, there hasn’t been a Costco worth spending the time driving to check out their claims.  Then just about a year ago, construction began on new store about 5 minutes from my house. I would finally be able to see what all the hype was about.  After many building delays, it finally opened.  I didn’t bother to go for the first couple of weeks as the parking lot was always packed.

So it wasn’t until about 2 weeks ago that I took my first Costco trip, tagging along with a neighbor who already belonged.  I walked around somewhat quickly and saw that they had Coleman Organic chicken breasts for 50 cents less than I usually pay.  I made a mental note of that and walked around a little more not really seeing much.

However, I decided to join since it’s so close to me and just being able to grab the organic chicken in a pinch would be worth it.  My second time around, I was able to have a more leisurely trip and noticed some other great deals. As of now, here are a few items I will put on my “Costco Shopping List.”

• Organic Carrots: I use carrots a lot for cooking snacking, juicing, etc.  They won’t go to waste, though I’m not sure the 10 pound bag will fit in my fridge 🙂
• Organic clamshell salads and bags of lettuce: These are great to have on hand for quick salads, lunches and to toss into smoothies
• Organic frozen broccoli: I love fresh broccoli, but this is a huge time saver for me – just toss some in a pot with a little water, cover and steam.
• Organic frozen butternut squash: This is fabulous for soups and one of our favorite breakfast puddings. See recipes here.
• Organic blueberries and strawberries: Okay, huge savings here on berries in large portions (when in season). If you can’t eat them all up before they go bad, freeze the rest for smoothies!
• Unsweetened almond milk: Use for smoothies, milk replacement in recipes, “cereal” (my version of cereal – toss some nuts, seeds, fruit into a bowl and add some milk).
• Explore Asian Organic Black Bean Spaghetti: Ingredients – organic black beans and water . . . need I say more?
• Huge tub of organic unrefined coconut oil: We go through this by the barrel so great to have large amounts on hand.

After even another trip, I also found the following:  sprouted quinoa, organic chia, organic flax meal and organic dried fruit.  Oh and by the way, if anyone needs a giant teddy bear – they have those too!

So there you have it.  Those were my findings from the first few trips to this megastore.  I will post any updates of other products I find while I am there.  Next time, I might just drag my trusty Guru partner along to see what she finds.

What about you?  Do you shop at Costco or one of the other shopping club discount stores?  Do you find any organic or healthy ingredients there?  Post below – let’s help each other out!