I like to think of myself as an urban, hip “I walk everywhere and shop local” type person.
Unfortunately, that self-image is mostly false (or at least best before 2010) because the truth is that I have a family of four and sometimes you need a lot of toilet paper.
So I find myself at Costco.
2C83C476-43F4-454B-B180-03ACD3C7FD0C
 
With a shopping cart the size of my car and the theme to Buy N Large from Wall-E stuck in my head:
 But here’s why it’s worth it:
We all know that healthy eating is not always the most affordable option. Costco has fantastic prices on products that I use to stock my pantry. Here are some shopping ideas for you.
(These are categorized by concept). Click here for your printable list!
Funky flours
This is a great place to stock up on alternative flours if you are trying to reduce your wheat consumption or refined carbohydrates. Look for almond flour, coconut flour, and quinoa flour.
 
C65B8393-F5BB-4F8B-8306-CFBBF427FB61

 Whole Grains and legumes

 The only thing healthier than legumes is sprouted organic legumes. This is a total score:

ADA5459D-2CAC-47CD-BEB5-0C91DC409B2F
I’ll also grab one of these sprouted rice and quinoa mixes. My kids like rice more than quinoa, so this is a good compromise and ups the protein delivery in being sprouted:
E58779DF-7195-4914-89F2-57827322941B
 
You’ll find Bob’s Red Mill products at great prices here.
Oats (steel cut and regular) are a must for me for breakfasts and baked goods (pulse in a blender for a few secs to make oat flour and use instead of wheat flour if you want gluten-free baked goods)
oats

 Nut Butter

 This Kirkland almond butter is pretty much my boyfriend:
0B46B4B1-4C0D-454C-92E9-0353EF52FD90
and it’s so much cheaper to get it at Costco than my local. A tablespoon of this on an apple is my go-to snack. You can also get peanut butter, tahini, cashew butter and coconut butter there are great prices.

Beverages

 Costco is an awesome place to stock up on non-dairy milks (oat milk is my current fave – so creamy and the best option for the environment ).  Make sure you double-check for the sugar-free varieties:

9DF2EF6D-06B8-4B9A-9D9B-119501CE16AE
I also stock up on kefir. Kefir is a fermented dairy drink (tastes like thin yogurt) and one of the most powerful probiotic sources you can get.
I use it as a smoothie base and also buy a flavoured version to give the kids as an after-school snack (for me, the sugar is worth getting all that good stuff into them).
I’m really into this right now as my youngest is on a long course of antibiotics so I’m trying to replenish his gut with the good bacteria that will keep him healthy!
FF87AFF7-205F-42D3-B8D9-5404147816F4

Cooking Oils

Have you heard the news that your olive oil is probably fake?
In Extra Virginity: The Sublime and Scandalous World of Olive Oil, Tom Mueller exposes a ton of shady stuff about the olive oil industry and how most olive oil is cut with cheaper oils. In recent testing of major US brands, almost 70% were found to be primarily other oils.
F9BC52ED-84CE-4040-B812-1BD6C443FD96
However, the Costco organic brand passed the test with flying colours.
 
9CD73499-19BE-487C-A5AE-6605259849A3
A lot of people tend to use olive oil as the default for everything but you want to diversify all your foods for the broadest spectrum of nutrients. 
Avocado oil is a great alternative to olive oil – especially for cooking due to it’s high smoke point.
EF5FBD5C-945A-456F-A3FC-C892B9375050
And I’m sure I don’t have to tell you about coconut oil as half of the internet is already dedicated to coconut oil worship.
coconut oil
You can score a vat of it at Costco so you can use it for everything from shaving your legs to muffins and be right on trend:
pour

Natural sweeteners:

If you are trying to avoid processed sugar, that’s awesome. But let’s not kid yourself that you are going to want some sweetness in your life.
My favourite sweetener is maple syrup. (By the way – if you guys think I’m all healthier-than-thou, check out my sister, who spent last weekend making her own maple syrup. Like – from TREES:)
IMG_8815
If you are too lazy to spend your weekends boiling down maple sap to get 1 cup of syrup for 40 cups of sap, then get your disgraceful self to Costco and buy this:
B4ADBFD8-16DA-4327-AEC5-DEBF21B1C0F8
You can also get a great deal on honey and dates ( you can add softened date mush to baked goods instead of sugar) as well as unsweetened apple sauce for school lunches or for sugar-free baking recipes.

Nuts

Yes, you can also get all this stuff at the bulk barn, but if you are into one-stop shopping (as I am), these are fantastic deals and great to stock the pantry:
I always have a stock of raw nuts in my pantry. I add to salads, smoothies, and sauteed vegetables for healthy fats and extra deliciousness. Almonds, pecans and walnuts go in almost everything.
D74343F3-4EE1-467E-9669-F18D8DDB602B

Seeds

Seeds are a total bargain at Costco!
I use pumpkin seeds to give a nice crunch to salads (great source of zinc).
I add chia to my smoothies every morning, which adds tons of nutrients and fibre, keeping me full until lunch.
I add hemp hearts to salads, soups, smoothies, sauteed vegetables and yogurt for an extra protein kick.
Flax seed is an amazing source of omega-3 fatty acids (especially for my vegetarian family, that doesn’t get it from fish).
0506FB97-95DF-48BF-B82A-77BBFC494193

 Freezer Stuff

 Frozen fruit
My favourite is wild blueberries. Blueberries are a superfood – full of antioxidants.
And – very importantly – they cover the green colour so I can sneak kale into my kids’ smoothies.
B4ABBA33-FE49-4D36-BC6B-778BBD47367F

 Frozen vegetables

One of my meal planning rules is to start with the vegetables. It took me a while to shift my thinking on this.
I used to start every meal with the meat (I’m having chicken. How should I make it and what should I put on the side?).
Then when I went vegetarian, I started with the starch (do I want rice, pasta, tortillas..?)
Now I start with the vegetables. I will first do an inventory of what is about to go bad in my fridge and then think about what is in season and what my kids might eat and then build the meal out from there. 
When the goal is to first always fill half my plate with vegetables, it’s good to have extras on hand. And especially during the winter months in Canada – frozen vegetables (frozen at peak ripeness) are a healthier and cheaper option.

Edamame
852E17CE-030A-411A-9005-3ADE89E5A73F

 I love a bowl of salted edamame left on the kitchen table for high-protein after-school snacking. And the kids love popping the peas out of the pods.

Bread

 We only stock sprouted bread at our house. The deal with sprouted bread is that it always uses the whole grain (so you get the endosperm, which is where all the nutrients are at).
Also –  the sprouting process breaks down the proteins and carbohydrates in the bread, making it lower on the glycemic index, higher in protein and more digestible for people who have trouble with grains. It doesn’t contain any preservatives, so you have to look in the freezer section.
1AE8D004-B77C-47E7-92B9-9105C0748F03
 

 Healthier Snack Foods

 See all those jumbo bags of candy close to the checkout? You WALK PAST THEM and grab these instead:

Trail Mix:

Read the label for no sugar added, and do your best to avoid the ones with chocolate.
Also, remember that trail mix is awesome but calorically dense. Meant for people who are hiking trails, right? Not surfing the net. Just sayin’.
Watch the portion sizes here or help yourself out by buying individual servings (or give the environment a break and bulk buy and make your own custom mix and put in individual bags for later.)
B19E9D1A-783B-4E13-AE89-55C4C1F8A26D

Roasted Seaweed

Now, some of my clients will balk when I suggest they replace chips with seaweed (um…understandably), but these really are delicious. They satisfy the need for something greasy and salty, and they are no-carb, low-calorie and full of healthy minerals.
7A3464B2-A79E-4BCC-AF89-810ED780500B

Crackers

These are some of the cleanest crackers on the market – with no hydrogenated oils or trans fats. Plus they are packed with seeds for healthy fats.

DFDC8FAD-DA5E-4030-AF0C-C24929F6ECBE
 

 Emergency energy bars

 Lara bars are just fruit and nuts and seeds, so they are super ‘clean’.
Keep in mind, though, that they are primarily simple carbohydrates with a bit of healthy fat. They would also be a good pre-workout snack if you need something between work and the gym to keep you going. As a general snack, fresh-cut veggies or whole fruit is better, but it’s not a bad idea to keep a stash of these (in your bag, in your car) for those times when it’s a choice between this or a doughnut.
 D3FF9E15-2CCD-4BB7-B7CB-BB04F7BD31EA

Fresh Stuff

Animal Protein

I can’t personally vouch for any of it, but I’m told that Costco is a great place to buy grass-fed beef and organic or wild-caught fish, which would be your best options for animal protein.

Produce

We don’t buy a lot of produce at Costco because we generally won’t get through it before it goes bad.
However, these are the few items we’ll tear through with no problem:

Bananas

These are on the Clean 15 list, so usually, it’s not worth it to buy them organic. Costco is a bargain, so why not?
I don’t worry about over-buying because the black bananas will freeze and be delicious in smoothies or banana ice cream (frozen banana – puree it with a hand blender until it gets really creamy. It’s a life-changer for those nights when you want a little treat after dinner. Go on an add a chocolate chip or two if it’s your birthday.)
bananas

Spinach

I throw handfuls of spinach into everything, and if it starts to look a little wilted, I’ll just sautee it and use it in frittatas, etc.

d983f56a52d7325a9e15bd77c1facb46

Eggs

I’m someone who cares about where my food comes from but I have to admit I always pause in front of the egg section of the grocery store because organic, free-range eggs are TWICE the price of the other ones.  And we plow through eggs in my family. Costco actually just released an article on its organic eggs, which I think are fab:

eggs

Essential Costco Shopping Tips!

Never shop hungry:

CAF423BA-18CA-4F2E-BE43-85542B18FF88

Just because you HAVE a lot of it, doesn’t mean you need to eat it all now:

D5C489C4-8D54-4A26-9263-DA4D1D4F46F5

And for the love of your bank account, shop with a plan:

164A144D-1D26-49E2-AC18-0AB024739DA1

Again – Click here for your printable shopping list

Aaaand you might as well buy toilet paper while you are there. There’s a lot of fibre on this list. 🙂

 

Did you know?

Google ranks posts by how many comments and action it gets!
If you liked this post, let me know what is going on your Costco shopping list and share the post with friends!