Friday, March 15, 2013

Costco...More Like Cost Less (get it?)

Happy Friday!!! I know I'm pretty excited for this weekend to be here, mostly because I'm going to be starting on round two of project "paint my entire house". I'm just starting to recover from the first weekend, because seriously painting uses a LOT of muscles...and I'm pretty out of shape, the bf says I've been drinking the "weak sauce"..which is code for "I'm a wimp". 

Last night we decided it would be super fun to go get some of the staples we are out of from our friendly neighborhood Costco. We joined the ol' cluberooski a few months ago and so far have started a pretty good list of things that are good deals for us that we can stock up on. I enjoy going there, but ONLY when there aren't a lot of people and crazy kids running around. I love kids, just not when I'm trying to push a ginormous cart full of heavy bulk items around a crowded warehouse. 

I also have two other gripes about Costco: 

1.) Their parking lots STINK, whoever designed their weird shape was sooo on drugs because there are no good parking spots, no good places to walk without getting hit by cars, and no good places to drive through without hitting people walking. 

2.) Their cart placement STINKS, if you have ever been to a Costco, at least in MN, there is a steady flow of people leaving the store at all times with huge carts full of stuff out the left door, the entrance is the right door (sometimes these are flip flopped) BUUUUT the carts? They are on the left of the left door...so I have to walk ACROSS the exiting flow of shoppers, grab my huge cart, then walk back across maneuvering my cart through the exiting people to get to the entrance door...I seriously don't understand the meaning of this.


But on to the good stuff, I thought I'd share my super finds from Costco last night, in no particular order.

Here is a box with 36 snack bags of Pirate's Booty, I don't know if this is supposed to be popcorn, or crackers, or just flavored air, but I love it, and for 2 Points Plus a bag it's a nice little snack.

At my house we love the Kirkland marinara sauce, we use it on pasta, in casseroles and sometimes as a pizza sauce. It has simple ingredients: tomatoes, water, tomato concentrate, onions, garlic, basil, sea salt, extra virgin olive oil, oregano, citric acid. And I think it tastes good, I know not everyone is a fan but we like it at our house and it has less sugars and other additives than most pasta sauces. A 1/2 cup serving is 1 Points Plus.

Look at this giant container of giant strawberries! Mmmm we've been really feeling strawberries lately at my house, I love to put them in yogurt and the bf has been enjoying them in a sugar free pudding as an evening dessert. 0 Points Plus of course. 

I do not like regular milk, I never really did as a child and a few years ago I did the vegan thing for 6 months and switched to soy, I love love love it! Mostly just as a creamer in my coffee, I don't have a lot of other uses for milk, I don't drink it straight at all. I hardly have a bowl of cereal because that's sort of a trigger food for me, but I also use soymilk for baking and it usually adds a really nice soft vanilla flavor. At Costco you can get a huge case of it for less than $2 a carton and that's a good deal, especially since they are shelf stable for a long time.

 As a once in a while, quick fix meal we make these Annie's mac n cheese boxes. Not often because they aren't the greatest, but when you need some comfort food and have the points to spend on it, Annie's is the best, mix in peas, spinach, peppers or broccoli and you have a nearly balanced meal. 

This item is one of our faves and its hard to find when it's not fall/winter time, I guess they think mashed potatoes are seasonal? Not in my house! I'm a sucker for instant potatoes and this is nice because its small serving pouches and different flavors. 1/2 a pouch is 6 Points Plus or a 1/4 for 3 PP.

I first tried this brown rice and quinoa mix from Super Target and loved it! It is really flavorful, filling and a nice combination of the two grains. At Costco they have a four pack with a bit of savings from buying them individually, it's nice to just have them in the pantry as a meal staple if we ever need 'em.

So have you ever shopped at Costco? 
Are you  a member? 
What staples or great food finds do you love? 


8 comments:

  1. I love Pirate's Booty! It is so wonderful but so expensive in stores. We don't have a Costco membership. Josh thinks it costs too much and that you aren's saving if you have to pay to join. I have other opinion on it buttttt I pick my battles!

    Have a great Friday!

    Madalyn

    www.faithfoodexercise.blogspot.com

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    1. You're right it is pretty spendy, for some flavored air puffs! probably because it's so cute :) I struggled with the spend on the membership too but they sell their gas at a loss and we have a gas guzzling truck and SUV so that was a huge draw, also we get enough savings that we calculated it was worth it for us. I used to just go with my sister though and use her membership to score deals, that's fun too!

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  2. Sounds like a ridiculous arrangement for the carts. Ugh! That would make me crazy. But it looks like you got some great stuff. I guess it was worth it then.

    I'm not a big shopper. I have chronic fatigue and grocery shopping wears me out. My husband does it, usually with one of the kids helping.

    Thanks for sharing. Stopping by from SITS.

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    1. Grocery shopping can be such a chore, I don't think may people realize it, but if you have a condition that makes it even harder I can only imagine that it would be such a burden- I'm sorry to hear that, at least you have a hubby who helps you out :) hopefully he brings home the right things and not just snack food!
      Thanks for stopping by!!

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  3. Oh Annie's mac & cheese, how I love thee! I think I am going to have to whip my box of white cheddar mac & cheese out of my pantry this weekend :).

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    1. Oh the white cheddar shells are my fave! But the bf doesn't like them so we don't get the often, sooo good! hope you enjoyed yours :) Thanks for stopping by

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  4. I like to get fresh blueberries there. And I buy my almond milk there too. Oh, and they have some pre-made serving bowls of brown rice that I like to have on hand because they are SO easy--90 seconds in the microwave.

    I always check out their produce dept and get myself a treat there!

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    1. Oh blueberries! YUM!! I haven't seen almond milk there, do you get it from the fridge area or shelf? I will have to look for your good finds, I'm always looking for food that cooks quick and is healthy. Thanks for stopping by :)

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