February 12, 2018

What to Buy at Costco

Every once in awhile I’ll share what bought on Instagram and every time I do, I get requests for a blog post with my favorites. So here it is – what to buy at Costco – and I’m sharing how I prep it when I get home too!

My husband and I have been Costco members for nearly 20 years and I can tell you that it’s one of our favorite places to shop. We can get products in bulk and at a discount and it’s just plain fun to shop there (when it’s not busy). I especially love the produce and organic selection. With three kids, we save a lot of money by shopping for bulk items bi-weekly or every third week.

In case you’re wondering, this is not sponsored, just sharing some favorites!

Every Friday I do my best to make a menu plan and head to the grocery store. I go to Costco every other or every third Friday of the month – I find that if I get there early on a Friday the store is well-stocked for the weekend and the crowds aren’t there yet. Friday night is also a good time to shop there as well – nice and quiet. Our typical spend for a regular stock-up is $150-250.

This All Over Everywhere List and the Clean Mama Menu Planner are both available in Clean Mama Home and musts in our house!

If you aren’t familiar with Costco, you have to have a membership to shop – we pay for the executive membership and get money back on what we buy. Typically our refund check is about the same as the membership fee so we figure it pays for itself.

Here’s a typical Costco haul….

I typically buy these staples:

veggies, fruit, eggs, milk, cheese, bread, naan, crackers, salmon, chicken breasts or tenders, bacon, lunchmeat, coffee, yogurt, dried fruit, sparkling water, kefir, juice

Then I work off a list and get the things that we need to stock up on:

frozen fruit for daily smoothies, snacks (popcorn, nuts, applesauce, balanced breaks), frozen or fresh cauliflower, mayo, chicken sausage, hummus

cleaning supplies:

white vinegar – you can’t beat the price on white vinegar (I use it DAILY for laundry and cleaning), baking soda, castile soap

Here are some things that I get every once in awhile that I didn’t get on this trip:

The worst part of shopping at Costco is putting everything away – it’s probably my least favorite thing about shopping there. Before I leave I wipe out the refrigerator and get it ready to be stocked up (part of my Friday Catch-All Day routine).

On Friday afternoon as I’m putting things away I prep what I can for easy grab and go snacks and meal components. Here’s what that typically looks like:

  • I usually buy salmon and have one filet that night and one in the freezer
  • pan-sear chicken breasts and put half in the refrigerator (for lunches and quick dinners components), and half in the freezer – or I’ll do a quick marinade and cook the chicken on the grill if the weather is cooperating
  • put snacks in a snack container – here’s the one pictured
  • wash and cut veggies and fruit for the week or a couple days
  • hard boil eggs
  • if I get ground turkey I will brown some of that up for meal components or for the freezer
  • bake bacon for breakfast, sandwiches, salads

All right – where are my Costco buddies? What are your favorites?

Posted Under:

Menu Planning