I shop at Costco at least twice a month. I think most people with kids shop at Costco, or a place like it. When you think of Costco, you think bulk, and you also think about snacks, candy, soda and so on. My favorite part of Costco is the fresh fruits and vegetables. When I saw my friend Claudia at Costco a couple of months ago, she suggested that I post about all the healthy things you can buy at Costco.
Here is what I buy the most often at Costco
- Lettuce (6 heads of romaine for $4)
- Carrots (individual snack baby carrots-even organic)
- Hummus- see my previous post
- Eggs
- Blueberries
- Bananas- Don't talk to my oldest sister about bananas at Costco
- Strawberries
- Pears
- Grapes
- Asparagus
- Dark chocolate (the kids don't like it, but Mom does!)
- Milk
- Soy Milk
- Olive oil
- Bread- most of the bread at Costco now does NOT have HFCS in it
- Chicken
- Salmon
- Cheese
- Organic Pop Tarts (kids love them, Mom thinks they are gross)
- Quakers instant Oatmeal
- Canned Beans
- Frozen Strawberries, Blueberries, and other frozen fruit for smoothies
- Frozen Green Beans, Peas, and corn
- Fresh already cut up Broccoli
- Baby spinach
- 100% Real Maple Syrup
Words of advice when shopping in any grocery store
- Go with a list- this makes you plan out healthy meals for your family and keeps you from buying as much junk
- Shop in the fruit and Veggie section first- This does make it harder to fit things when you get to the canned food, but it fills your cart up with fresh and healthy things and makes it less tempting to buy junk.
- Shop the perimeter of the store. That is where they keep all the fresh non-processed foods. Shop the perimeter after the fruits and veggies
- Next shop the frozen food section- Frozen fruits and veggies are great for you and don't go bad as quickly. There are also a lot of things like frozen burritos that have ok ingredients for a quick snack for your kids.
- Shop the inside of the store last. This has all the processed food in it. You will end up in the middle for bread, cereal and canned beans, and canned tomatoes, but most of your cart should be full by the time you get to the middle.
- Think before you put it in your cart. DO NOT buy bulk of any kind of treat or junk food. Feel free to get yourself or your child a single item junk food item like A candy bar, but if you don't buy the junk, you will not have a chance to eat it at home.
what dark chocolate do you buy? I've only seen chocolate chips.
ReplyDeleteI used your "shop the perimeter" idea the other day. I really only needed apples and cauliflower and bananas but I would usually go down a few isles and see what else I needed. Instead, I stayed on the perimeter and added oranges and broccoli to my cart and then went straight to the checkout.
ReplyDeleteThat looks a lot like our shopping list. Try the Garden Burgers, too. With a big slice of tomatoe, a couple of leaves of lettuce,and a slice of Jarlsburg lite cheese (another great Costco find) on a whole wheat bun you've got a healthy burger for the barbeque season. Also, today I went to Winco for the first time. It has an awesome produce department.
ReplyDeleteDiane, they have these bags of Kirkland brand dark chocolate in individually wrapped squares. They have 60% and 70% in 4 different kinds (belgium, with nibs, without nibs, and such). I have not seen it the last couple of months. Maybe it will come back in the winter again. You can find it with the candy.
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