Our Healthy (-ier) Costco Shopping List
Every couple months (6-8 weeks?) we do a big ‘ol grocery run to Costco to stock up on a boatload of healthy foods. They carry SO many organic foods and Clean-Keto-Friendly* foods that it makes shopping there pretty fun! Or maybe it’s the samples…
(*Clean Keto describes our commitment to choosing the least-toxic-possible options that are higher in healthy fats, low in refined carbs, and, if there’s protein involved, it’s a ‘clean’ protein. Just because something is advertised as “Keto Approved” does NOT necessarily mean it’s going into our bodies. The same is true of “Paleo”, “Raw”, “Vegetarian”, “Pescatarian”, etc. I also refuse to give up our fresh veggies/salads for the sake of counting carbs. We are far, far from perfect, but we *try* to look for quality and the level of toxicity in our foods first. And other times, we eat chips & salsa and have an adult beverage. Justified as “balance”.)
Anyhow… in between these “big” Costco hauls, we shop at the local grocery stores (and Farmers’ Markets, in season) to replenish produce a couple times each week, and we take advantage of online grocery options like Amazon and Thrive Market for some of their unique products and great prices.
So, what are we buying at Costco?
A lot.
Yes, there are keto-esque things, but there are plenty of items that are not. We still intentionally eat healthier “carby” foods on a fairly regular basis as we incorporate strategic diet variation.
We don’t purchase ALL these things EVERY time… otherwise I’d need to get a second and third job! Seriously though, when I stick to my carefully crafted shopping list (that’s partially based on my upcoming meal plan and partially based on staple foods that we end up consuming at some point whether they’re officially in the short-term meal plan or not ), I find that we save a substantial amount of money AND time as a result of shopping here. It took us awhile to find our “intentional” shopping groove at Costco, but now that we have, it’s much less expensive and far more productive.
Also, I’m sure I’m overlooking a few things that we tend to buy at Costco from time to time… like some of the less-than-healthy stuff that I sometimes keep on hand in case we’re bombed by renegade Canadians and have to hide out for a few weeks… things like frozen burritos, frozen pizzas, organic tortilla chips, organic black beans, hummus, etc. But this list that follows is the one we usually use for reference..
*Note: There are a LOT of great looking options in the pork and seafood departments… but I’m not much of a fan of either, so there’s not much of that listed here.
And, I realize that different Costco Warehouses tend to offer different grocery items, which makes sense in the case of produce especially.
Anyhow… the list:
grass-fed burgers – these are LIFE SAVERS for our family! When everyone’s sick of mom’s food plan for the week, these are SO easy and convenient!
organic chicken breast – sometimes at Costco, sometimes from local farms or local grocers… it all depends
grass-fed bison
(I’ve consistently found grass-fed organic beef for the best price at Wal-Mart.)
canned wild Alaskan salmon
smoked wild Alaskan salmon
Wild Planet sardines (hubby)
‘cleaner’ turkey breakfast sausage links
organic Kiolbasa smoked beef sausage
bacon (lower sugar)
grass-fed filet mignon (steaks for special occasions)
grass-fed ribeye
Compte cheese
feta cheese
organic cheddar cheese
organic string cheese (kid’ snacks)
Dubliner cheese from grass-fed cows
ginormous bags of shredded cheese that last forEVER (mozzarella & cheddar mixes) – great for cooking with
organic parmesan cheese shaker
Horizon organic heavy whipping cream – mom’s fix
organic cage-free eggs (in addition to the ones we get from local farmers… and our duck eggs)
Kerrygold grass-fed butter (they sell ghee, too… but I haven’t purchased it yet since I’m not too familiar with the company)
organic Mediterranean salad mix
organic Romaine lettuce
organic blueberries (and sometimes strawberries)
sometimes avocados
organic frozen broccoli
organic frozen cauliflower rice
organic frozen berry mix (son loves to make smoothies every now & then)
kombucha
organic coffee
sometimes Lacroix
organic salsa
Rao (low carb) pasta sauce – not organic, just low carb… sigh.
organic pasta sauce – another tasty lower carb option
organic tomato sauce
organic diced tomatoes
organic soups, usually Amy’s brand
organic (canned) full fat coconut milk
almond butter
organic peanut butter
organic olive oil
organic coconut oil
avocado oil
avocado mayo (for the times when you don’t feel like making your own mayo!)
Kirkland Signature Protein Bars – these rival (relatively) lower carb Quest bars as far as ingredients, but are less expensive. I’m not a fan of protein/energy bars any more. I’d rather intermittent fast and/or reserve my fueling-up times for real meals… but I have a young gymnast who practices almost 20 hours per week… so he takes something like this with him to practice on occasion. (That, or pepperoni, jerky, cheese sticks/string cheese, mozzarella balls, fat bombs, etc.)
cheesy Keto snack things for those times when you just need a cheesy snack thing – Cello Whisps or Moon Cheese crackers
nuts… almonds, pecans, macadamia… all the nuts! (I like to try to get the raw ones, but I’m down with roasted and salted, too. Life is too short to stress over nuts.)
almond flour (daughter loves to back but tries to keep it on the ‘healthier’ side)
organic coconut flour
sprouted spelt flour
organic quinoa
organic chia seeds
organic hemp hearts
organic flaxseed
wine (just because)
I feel hungry just reading at this article!! 😉
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How about YOU?
What are YOUR favorite healthy finds at Costco these days? What are your MUST HAVES?? I’d love to hear!
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Dr. Colleen Trombley-VanHoogstraat (“Dr Mom Online”) is a long-time personality in Natural Health & Wellness and is in her 24th year of active practice in Michigan, along with her husband Dr. Marc VanHoogstraat. She’s also the proud mom of two fabulous kiddos that she currently home schools – really, she’s more of their Manager at this point in their education!
Her unique perspective of the science of Wellness provides predictable solutions and transformational results for those struggling with chronic health issues, as well as those seeking lifelong health. To discover her simple strategies for creating better health through functional nutrition, movement, mindset, cellular detoxification, hormonal optimization, and metabolic re-setting, jump on board as a regular reader of Dr Mom Online when you plug in your name and email address and follow along on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/drmomonline/
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