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Wednesday, September 3, 2014

Top 5 Costco buys

You might even say they're my favorites.


Seriously, I've been thinking what's lacking around these parts lately is that je ne sais quoi that makes a mommy blog a mommy blog. Readership cannot thrive by pure intellectual stimulation alone.

So in an all-time low I present to you a rousing rendition of "what's in my double wide shopping cart?" I mean, aside from the sample drippings and chubby, flailing limbs.

Breath baited?

Good.

Here it goes.

Without fail, every time I hit up everybody's favorite warehouse store (on average, once every 3 weeks), the following 5 times make their way home with me:

1. A crate of San Pellegrino. $13.85 is kind of pricey for 12 sparkly bottles of water, but then you do the math on what 12 bottles of wine would cost in terms of actual dollars and expanded waistlines resulting in yet more clothes shopping, and you will throw that bad boy on your under-cart shelf (along with possibly throwing out your back) faster than you can say 'Lenten happy hour.'

2. A million dollar package of delicious USDA select steaks. But there's a catch: see those 4 steaks pictured above? Well I can wave my magic butcher knife and voila, they will yield about 10 actual, recommended portion sizes for adults. Think that sounds crazy? Yeah, I do too. 4-6 oz of steak doesn't look like much on your plate. But when you're slicing it thinly for salads, mixing it in with roasted onions and peppers for fajitas, or just straight up grilling it to eat with a few veggie sides, it's enough. And it tastes so good, so much better than average grocery store meat! So I drop around $28 on a single package at the beginning of the month and then, we eat steak. I can't stand the taste of cheap beef, which brings me to my next favorite...

3. A triple pack of Kirkland's Best organic ground beef. Is $18 for 5.5 lbs of ground beef stupid? Yes, yes it is. But it tastes like shredded steak, and it is delicious, and my family is content to eat meat 4 times per week instead of 7, so it's really a win/win. Aside from the summer-long meatzapolooza of burgers on the grill, I generally only use ground beef for meatloaf, tacos, taco salad and ragu sauce, so all of those are stretchable meals that can make a pound of ground flex to feed a crowd.

4. Moooooving on. In our #4 spot we have a 2 lb brick of whatever cheese the boys are fancying this week. (Nothing yellow at the moment will cross their lips. Who even knows?). I usually buy Tillamook extra sharp cheddar because it is delicious and you can hack quarter pound slices off the end to eat with your glass of red wine and the log remains the same giant size it was when you unwrapped it, but since this month is all about temperance and abstinence and suffering, I let them pick boring old monterey jack, and the store brand at that. But the takeaway lesson is this: you do not need to buy shredded cheese, ever. Unless it's fresh parmesan, and then I totally absolve you because that is hard to shred and ain't nobody should be consuming the rancid powdered stuff from a can. (I'm not judging you, I'm just trying to educate the uncheesed masses of America. Put down the green cans. It's not real.) What I'm saying about cheese is that it's super super super affordable if you're willing to do your own shredding.

5. Last but not least, the lovely leaves. A boring 6-pack of Romaine lettuce that lasts through one million lettuce wraps and dinner salads. $3.29 for 6 heads of lettuce? Hell to the yes.

Happy shopping, card holders. And don't forget to keep your receipt out when you exit.

10 comments:

  1. I just got a membership to Costco a couple of weeks ago. (We used to belong to BJ's when the kids were little but when we moved here and no longer needed diapers, wipes and formula, we decided not to join Costco.) But a bunch of my friends are always raving about it so I decided to join the club. HA! Get it?!

    Anyway, I've tried to start a list so that I can compare prices per unit with my other stores to make sure I'm only buying things at Costco that are truly a good value. So far I've found some good deals and quite often I've compared and found that bigger isn't always cheaper.

    I like your idea with the steaks! I'll have to check them out next time I go.

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  2. "The uncheesed masses" you almost made me snort pellegrino out my nose. Now if only the closest Costco wasn't an hour away :(

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  3. Love it!! I've always debated if it is worth it the membership stores... plus I'm kinda creeped out by having to buy a membership with a pic to shop at a store... but after reading your post my mouth is watering and I'm super tempted :)

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  4. Yes to the steaks! We also make several meals out of them too.

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  5. I love Costco, but I don't think we save money there because we like their snack section too much, heh!

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  6. I actually really love this post! My husband and I got a Costco membership a few months ago and I have kinda been wondering what some strategic buys are. Nice! And- I agree about the Costco steak- so good!

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  7. Thanks for the heads up! I will look into the meat next week when I'm at Costco again. Confession: I'm Canadian, so I'm not sure that ours carries the same products, similar prices, etc. I find better prices at Costco for milk, yogurt and some school supplies (still working through the 80 pack of pencils I bought 6-ish years ago!)...also snowsuits...in July, when they are fully stocked (I despise buying winter clothes in summer...the cross I bear...!).

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  8. My favorite place! I LOVE that pack of romaine. Seriously - how can it be so cheap? Love that steak, too. But with teenage boys and a meat-loving husband? One meal with a little bit of leftovers. My oldest boy can eat an entire one of those steaks in one sitting - no lie. Just wait. And I stopped buying shredded cheese awhile ago, after my sister pointed out how long it stays "fresh" in the fridge, and how it NEVER sticks together like actual cheese. Makes you think. Into my cart as a "must have always" item, I will add bacon. The Kirkland brand microwave bacon packs are a LIFESAVER in the morning. All my people can micro to their heart's content and everyone is nice and stocked up on protein for breakfast. I limit to 4 pieces per person and it's the best. And the Kirkland brand "actual" bacon (as my kids call the raw), for Saturday morning "special" breakfast.

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  9. Sad that I only discovered costco has camis, undies, and kids clothes for me late in the game - we left the state and now BJs and Sams await- anything even close to Costco? I haven't ventured over to check yet - but we need some bulk shopping up in here, so I can report. I love Costco, done smartly :) Fun to read your favorites, even if it did make me yearn a little bit for our old home!

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