Costco Shopping List- Ideas for Smart and Healthy Shopping

A gigantic store full of sensory delights and great deals makes for a fun shopping trip. Many a shopper scores good deals and stocks their pantry with staples; likewise, many also spend more than they should and end up with a surplus of tempting, processed foods of subpar quality. That huge bag of chips is going to call your name, those “healthy” berry chocolates will add a significant amount of simple sugar into you daily diet. On the other hand, the artisan lettuce and Chilean avocados are always delicious and the frozen berries and whole organic chickens have the best prices around! There are plenty of high quality, even organic finds.

One downside of warehouse shopping for the typical household is the common misconception  that buying more is always a better deal. I find that some prices are much better, others are about the same, and some are worse. It’s important to know what the local prices are for your staple items are and be able to compare. For example, cheese prices are about the same per pound whether you buy 5lb at Costco or 1/2 lb at Trader Joe’s (for example). For any particular household, it may or may not make sense to buy all that cheese at one time; the reciept can add up quickly when you are purchasing multiple items of roughly $10-20. We try to walk out of Costco with a certain amount of money spent and try not to buy more than a couple items impusively.

I find that when I read ingredients carefully, there are many items that may have made it into our oversized cart that end up sitting back on the shelf. The berry chocolates for example;  of course they’re healthy! What’s not healthy about superfruits and dark chocolate? A quick scan of the label reveals that they are mostly concentrated fruit juices (aka “simple sugar”), added sugars, as well as refined soy and corn products which may be an issue when considering either food allergies or GMOs.I”m not saying that they’re “bad”;  they do taste delicious and the ingredients certainly aren’t horrifying. I just don’t know if its something you want to have a monster bag of around all the time! For desserts and sugary snacks, its best to have small amounts of the good stuff and not necessarily eat it every day, quality over quantity I suppose.

Here is an example of what our Costco reciept looks like. I hope it will give you some good ideas about how to shop smart and healthy!

• Eco-friendly laundry detergent
• Gluten-Free Crackers: I like the “Mary’s Gone” brand because the ingredients are simple, whole foods. I avoid some of the other rice crackers as they have dairy, soy and some other refined ingredients
• Walnuts, Pecans, Almonds. This is my spot for the whole, raw nuts I soak and roast for snacking,  use in smoothies, oatmeal, or to make homemade nutmilk with.
• Pistachios (roasted, salted) for snacking! One of the lower calorie of the nuts, but packed with fiber, protein, and minerals. yum!
• Almond Butter: Not organic (sigh), but the best deal around for a high quality, creamy (salted or unsalted) nut butter. However,  I am quite disappointed that the packaging has gone from glass to plastic!
• Artisan Lettuce
• Fresh Nectarines
• Organic Strawberries (these are one of the “dirty dozen” and should be purchased organic)
• Frozen Berries: Blueberries, raspberries, and blackberries for smoothies, hot cereal, or as a half-frozen sweet treat.

• Avocados. These can be sketchy if you’re too far north of the border; they are often brown, tasteless, or mealy. When we lived in Seattle, the only consistently good ones we found were the Chilean variety at Costco.
• Asparagus. One of the clean 15! You don’t have to purchase these organic as they have less pesticide residue (see the “dirty dozen” link above)
• Organic Stewed Tomatoes. Essential for soups, stews, and roasts
• Steelhead can be wild or farm-rasied. There are few farm-raised fish that make it onto our table, but steelhead and other trout can be eco-friendly choices and are great sources of omega-3 fatty acids. Here is a link to my favorite safe seafood guide!
• Canned Light Tuna. Now while its not necessarily the best choice from an ecological standpoint- canned tuna is an economical, nutritious staple to have around especially when you’re short on time or inspiration. More frequently, we buy the Canned Alaskan Salmon. It is an ecological choice, and while it is not a prime filet- it’s a great nutritious option
• Whole Organic Chickens. This is the best deal around- great for roasting, grilling ( a whole grilled chicken takes some time, but is worth the wait!), and making stock for soups. Read this to learn how to make super nourishing soup stock.
• Mrs May’s Trio bars. These are tasty, made from whole foods ingredients and fit the “Energy Bar Equation” (thanks Metabolic Effect! ). For an energy bar where the protein/fiber: carb ratio is optimal, take the Total Carbs and subtract the Fiber and Protein. The resultant number should be 15 or less. I liked these bars because of the ratio and the ingredients; my husband pointed out, however, that they’re “made in China”, so I’m not sure I’ll get them again…
• Gouda Cheese
• Morbier Cheese. This was the luxury buy of the trip!
• Crystal Gyser sparkling water with juices for my husband’s lunches. These have the lowest sugar content of the bevy of bottled beverages and “juice drinks” as well as the simplest ingredient list- nothing more than a little fruit juice.

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