We Joined Costco (Again)

on April 6, 2015
in All Posts

After a few years off, we joined Costco again!  Walking around the warehouse made me feel like we were living in Orlando again, which is the last time we had a membership.

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We weren’t planning to join a bulk warehouse this weekend. We were actually scouting outdoor furniture – we went all over town. We drove to Lowe’s, Home Depot, a few local stores, Sam’s Club, BJ’s, and then – finally – Costco.  I forgot how amazing Costco is!  Not only did we find new furniture (more on that later in the week), but we ended up going grocery shopping, too.

 

Here are some of the fun things we bought:

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Big old thing of pesto for $7.99.  I think I’ll be able to jazz up quite a few meals with this.  Also – have you tried scrambled eggs with pesto? YUM.

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Veggie burgers for $12.50.  Excited to try this brand!

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Two things of Honest sunscreen for $13.99. 

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These bars for $9.99.  We are in desperate need of different snacks so I was excited when I saw this.

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These spinach and quinoa cakes for $10.99.  Definitely something that I could easily make at home, but the ingredient list is really simple and you can’t beat the convenience.

 

Tried ‘em with mustard – yum.

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We also got…

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This giant jar of coconut oil for $15.99!

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Giant bag of frozen cherries for $11.50.  I make my smoothies with frozen cherries because they are SO much better than frozen strawberries.

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HUGE bag of organic chia seeds for $12.99.   I’m especially excited for this because we now make Emily’s sunflower butter balls in bulk.

 

What did I NOT buy? These giant vats of Nutella.  Because I would end up eating Nutella for every meal if I took this home…

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What do you love to buy at Costco?

{ 35 comments }

 

  • Sara @ LovingOnTheRun April 6, 2015, 9:03 am

    Is it completely ridiculous that I have never tried Nutella?! As addicting as everyone says it is, I’m afraid to! HA!

    • Kathy April 7, 2015, 10:06 pm

      yes, yes it is! Go get it!

  • Erin @ Her Heartland Soul April 6, 2015, 9:31 am

    Okay now I need to go to Costco and get that pesto so I can put it on my morning eggs. I love Costco, and love pesto!

  • Char April 6, 2015, 9:44 am

    We just moved to Orlando in November and getting a Costco membership again is something I’ve been considering so it’s kind of funny seeing this post (and I’m actually Google mapping how close we live to one haha). I love the deals and I totally miss the bulk food! And I can’t believe how cheap the honest company sunscreen is. I feel like that’s almost a better deal than what it is in the essential bundle online!

  • Maryz April 6, 2015, 10:20 am

    Love Costco! Those Quinoa, veggie burgers and pesto are all staples in my cart. Almond butter, peanut butter, frozen organic veggies, eggs, and cheese also make my cart. They have so many good choices!!

  • Rachel April 6, 2015, 10:21 am

    Man, I love Costco! In fact I’m due for a trip there very soon. If you’re in need of snack things, try Aussie Bites! They’re *so* good. Not sure if they’re gluten free but they have lots of yummy things in them, like oats, dried apricots and flax seeds. My kids love them and they’re great to grab and go. The only downside is they are a bit crumbly…

    Did you end up finding any furniture at Costco? We ended up buying our outdoor furniture from Home Depot. Martha Stewart has a line there and it’s pretty nice 🙂

  • Nicole April 6, 2015, 10:33 am

    I’ve never shopped at a Costco, but it looks like you found some great stuff! I do try to buy in bulk when I can, especially on dry pantry items. We’re hoping to get a deep freezer soon which will open up a whole new world, lol. I like to make big batches of food to freeze but I need more freezer storage!

  • Dietitian Jess April 6, 2015, 10:46 am

    I’ve been wanting to join one the bulk stores and I’ve heard great things about Costo! I agree on the Nutella- between my husband and I there would be spoonfuls taken from the jar daily!!

  • Lauren April 6, 2015, 10:56 am

    The spinach & quinoa cakes are great! I like to put 2 over a salad.

    I always buy organic frozen berries and Mateo’s Salsa–if you haven’t tried that, you need to. Amazing and no added sugar. I also found a brand of marinara sauce with no added sugar that we love. We also buy dog food 🙂

  • Amber @ Busy, Bold, Blessed April 6, 2015, 11:23 am

    I’m a huge fan of BJs and ours has a gas station and it’s always cheaper than everywhere else! Food wise, I like to buy chicken sausage, Kerrygold butter, trail mix, beef jerky, cooking oils, Red Hot, and whatever produce I need while I’m in the store. We buy all our paper products there and we recently purchased a TV there on Black Friday. Our membership is definitely worth it.

  • Julia @ LordStillLovesMe April 6, 2015, 11:25 am

    I love love love love Costco! Only my parents have a membership though, so I take full advantage when I go home to visit. 😉 Those veggie patties are delicious! Let us know what you think, but I can attest to them being delicious. You need to try their giant muffins. They are scrumptious.

  • Allison April 6, 2015, 11:29 am

    I love those giant tubs of coconut oil! I also love the big jugs of maple syrup, big bags of nuts, and huge bags of coffee. I find that a lot of the stuff at Costco isn’t really a great deal – you pay a comparable price per unit, but the convenience of bulk can be worth it. Sometimes, though, things are considerably cheaper (see, e.g., coconut oil, real maple syrup, Starbucks whole bean coffee, Sugar in the Raw, nuts, organic frozen fruit and veggies). I like that the Kirkland brand food is pretty consistently good, too. I can’t say the same for some store brands (I’m looking at you, Aldi). I also appreciate the Carter’s clothes, which are probably not marked down much from their stores/online, but I usually leave with at least 2 cute outfits for my toddler 🙂

  • Andy Gentile April 6, 2015, 11:39 am

    Their granola is amazing. It does not last long in my house.

  • Alina April 6, 2015, 12:04 pm

    Those frozen cherries are awesome! They make the best cherry, spinach, and PB smoothies!

  • Fiona @ Get Fit Fiona April 6, 2015, 12:09 pm

    You can’t go wrong with pesto! I have a friend who loves taking advantage of all the samples at Costco. It’s so different going with her cause I usually don’t take them.

  • Elise April 6, 2015, 12:42 pm

    I LOVE the Costco pesto! Its so fresh-tasting for a jarred pesto. I like to mix it with lemon juice to use as a salad dressing or sauce for rice/bean/veggie bowls.

  • Liz April 6, 2015, 1:29 pm

    Those veggie burgers are my favorite! I always have a pack in the freezer for quick dinners. It’s embarrassing how much my husband and I love Costco. Before we had a baby, we used to go every Sunday and wander all the aisles just for fun, even if we didn’t actually need anything. Of course, we never left empty handed because you can always find something you just HAVE to have. I always joke that we have a $200 spending minimum there because I swear we never walk out of there spending less than that.

    Oh, and if you have never done it before, you have to use the pizza phone at least once. Every Costco has these red phones by the checkout line and if you pick them up they go straight through to the food area and you can order a pizza to pick up after you’re done shopping!

    • Liz April 6, 2015, 1:32 pm

      Ooooh, one more thing! The Kirkland brand wine is THE BOMB! My husband once ran into a guy who was some kind of wine distributor for Costco, and he told him that the Kirkland wine actually comes from the same vineyards as some of the really fancy expensive bottles, but since Costco buys so much and private labels it, it is WAY cheaper.

  • Lindsay April 6, 2015, 1:38 pm

    I LOVE Costco. I know you’re not a meat-eater, but we buy a lot of their organic beef and chicken. Our other Costco staples include their organic eggs, peanut butter, garlic and jalapeno-stuffed olives, avocado oil, organic fruit and vegetables (frozen and fresh), brown rice, almond milk and coconut milk. The other week I impulse-bought some dried Edamame pasta and it’s really delicious!

  • mary @ minutes per mile April 6, 2015, 1:40 pm

    the bulk sized bags of walnuts and almonds at costco can’t be beat! we also stock up on cans of organic diced tomatoes, tomato paste, sun dried tomatoes (apparently i love tomatoes), and dried fruits.

  • kristin | W [H] A T C H April 6, 2015, 2:32 pm

    i had no idea you could get honest company products at costco!

  • Amanda April 6, 2015, 2:39 pm

    I get my son those applesauce pouches at Costco because he eats them a ton, especially in the car. Also almonds and cashews are a great deal there.

  • Katalina @ Peas and Peonies April 6, 2015, 2:50 pm

    We used to have a membership a few years ago and I always looked forward to the weekend to go grocery shopping lol
    I used to get the cream puffs, its a big container and totally delicious it would last only a few days in our fridge, we used to eat them straight from the freezer!
    The frozen tiramisu is delicious too, tasted like ice cream.
    Since we moved across the street from a BJ and Shoprite we miss our Costco trips, but I must recognize that BJ is making an effort to bring more health conscious options as well, but again, nothing compared to Costco.

  • Kristinp April 6, 2015, 5:31 pm

    Those veggie burgers are AMAZING. I adore them. They don’t hold up super well in buns or bread, so I just eat them with a fork. They’re super delish with guacamole on top 🙂

  • Kristinp April 6, 2015, 5:34 pm

    Also, if your Costco carries them, the gluten free frozen pizzas are the best I’ve ever had and they make a great treat now and then.

  • Luv What You Do April 6, 2015, 7:11 pm

    I LOVE Costco! I have the softest blanket that I just bought and am obsessed with. We buy our fruits and veggies there too!

  • Ashley April 6, 2015, 9:02 pm

    My parents who live super close have a membership and I haven’t been there with them in YEARS. I have been telling my husband how I wanna go bc they have such a good selection of organic food- definitely hitting it up before this baby pops out if I can help it! 🙂

  • Kyla April 6, 2015, 9:10 pm

    I love coconut oil! I use it as moisturizer and lip balm and my boyfriend uses it to style his hair.

  • Ali April 6, 2015, 9:41 pm

    Organic olive oil!

  • Bridget April 6, 2015, 10:28 pm

    That looks a lot like our last trip to Costco! I’ve also been loving this giant bag of organic greens they have – I think it’s called Power blend and it’s baby kale, baby spinach and maybe chard? PERFECT for smoothies, salads and cooking. And I have “accidentally” bought that nutella before and it was a good/bad choice 😉

  • Ash Diamond April 7, 2015, 6:56 am

    Our freezer is SO small in Geneva that we can only have a pack of meat and some ice cube trays. I dream of huge fridge & freezers as we can’t buy ANYTHING in bulk. Great finds!

  • Bryna April 7, 2015, 2:06 pm

    The veggie burgers are really good. We eat them a lot during the summer. And our Costco used to have that coconut oil, which I loved! I dont like the different brand they have now. Enjoy your Costco membership 🙂

    They have bulk almond breeze if you drink that too.

  • Sam @ Grapefruit & Granola April 7, 2015, 4:27 pm

    I actually have that same bag of chia seeds! It has lasted forever.

  • Lindsay J April 7, 2015, 5:00 pm

    We are building a house, and I have bought a lot of things we needed. Garbage disposal, smoke detectors, bath exhaust fans, front door handle, faucet, toilets, fans, garage door opener, mattresses and plants! We even bought a tent last week to take hiking with us. I did some comparison shopping, and Costco does the research for you. The brands are reliable and they’ve got it at a good price. We also do the majority of our produce shopping at Costco. Huge salad mixes for $5; cheap bananas, etc.

  • Kathy April 7, 2015, 10:05 pm

    I used to hate Costco for some insane reason and then I saw the light. I still loathe having to tour the tire and battery aisle when the boyfriend insists but I love their giant natural peanut and almond butter, great deals on books and seeing Christmas decorations in August (I love Christmas, sue me!)
    We also have a fun game we play at Costco…spot the people with the 3 strangest items in their cart! “Hey honey, since you’re going out, could you pick me up a crib mattress, a piano and a 5 gallon container of cocktail weiners…kthanksbye”

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