The Costco Comeback

Let's talk food!  I know I am always talking about how I get things at Central Market, but I know that for many of you, Central Market is not an option in your area, or you have a family of 4 to feed and you need to buy in bulk. Well, Sam and I only have a family of 2 to feed (well, Major is a member of the family, but he eats the same thing everyday, pretty simple grocery list for a dog if you ask me).  So, needless to say, I never really thought that we had a need to go to Costco.

Well, one day recently, we decided to join my parents on their Costco trip, and to put it lightly... I went crazy! Like a kid in a candy store.  Costco has healthy food! I couldn't believe it.  Last time I went to Costco (several years ago) there was nothing but huge boxes of everything unhealthy.  I mean you just didn't see anything organic.  Well, the times have changed thank goodness!  Our world is starting to realize the importance of eating healthy, organic foods... and Costco is slowly jumping on that train!  Hooray!

So, I wanted to tell you what I purchased during this trip to Costco, and hopefully some of the items and recipe ideas will interest you and you can add them to your next grocery list!  So let's call this...

The Costo Comeback

(dun dun dunnn...)

First up, my favorite purchase... 

90sec Microwavable ORGANIC Brown Rice Bowls!!  These came in a 6-pack and there are two ingredients, organic brown rice and water.  Instant lunch or dinner stir-fry when combined with the frozen veggies (shown below) and some soy sauce.  This rice is good simply by itself too.  I also like to put it on top of some greens mixed with avocado, beans, and salsa.  YUMMY!

Next up, Organic Basmati Rice Medley and 100% Whole Grain Organic Quinoa.  The basmati medley is a rice pilaf mixed with dried garden herbs and vegetables, we haven't tried this yet, but I'm excited about it!  And you have all heard me talk about quinoa.  I just love quinoa... it's a great whole grain and gluten-free rice that provides a good source of protein.  And this is  HUGE bag!!  I also like to put the quinoa on top of greens like the brown rice, or to keep it simple, I just like to mix it with pasta sauce like you would spaghetti.  Then have a some good veggies or a caesar salad on the side (healthy Caesar Dressing recipe coming to you soon!)

Speaking of pasta sauce.  We purchased a 2-pack of Organic Pasta Sauce, and it's delicious, especially mixed with the quinoa!!  The next thing is the Dry Roasted Edamame and a Soy Nut Energy Blend.  The soy blend has soy nuts, almonds, pumpkin seeds, and dried cranberries.  Also, edamame is a good source of protein, and this is a good way to enjoy it without having to worry about cooking it.  Both the edamame and soy nut blend make for great snacks!    The other item is dried blueberries.  I know last week I posted a recipe for oven-dried blueberries, but if you don't have the time to make those, then you can buy this large bag of them!  Enjoy the bluberries on your granola, yogurt, cereal, oatmeal, or whatever.  I also just like to eat some when I feel a sugar craving coming on.  

The last thing in this pic above, is the Rice Crackers with Nuts, which is a blend of authentic Asian-Inspired Snacks.  I really like this one because you can munch on it like trail mix, but it's not like your regular trail mix which usually has nuts and dried fruit or pretzels.  It's completely different and really light.  To get a better idea of what's inside of the large bag, I took this pic for you...

Those little balls you see in the bag are wasabi rice balls, which are so good, and not hot at all like the regular wasabi you use for your sushi. 

Okay, next up we have Brown Rice Chips.  As you can see this huge bag is almost empty... sorry for the crumpliness of the bag (crumpliness is not a word by the way, spell check is angry with me right now, but you know what I'm saying).  These probably aren't the most healthy things in the world, but they are a tasty salty snack with hummus or salsa. 

Okay, moving through our grocery cart, next we have the freezer items.  Stir-Fry Vegetable Blend and All-Natural Sweet Potato Fries! The stir-fry blend is what I mentioned earlier that goes well with the brown rice bowls.  I love to bake the sweet potato fries and enjoy them with some organic ketchup.

Also, in the freezer, we have 12 individual frozen edamame packs that you can zap in the microwave for 2-3 minutes, sprinkle with a little bit of sea salt, and enjoy!  Again, a great source of protein, and it's so nice that they come in individual packets that can be enjoyed by 1-3 people.  They can be a snack or a side-dish or appetizer to your next Asian meal (a stir-fry maybe?)

I also got these big bags of nuts for when we make the granola.  I like to keep them in the freezer so they stay fresh. 

Now, on to the final items that we have in the fridge.  First, Naked Green Machine Superfood Juice.  This has a good blend of fruit and vegetable juices.  The sugar content is high from the fruit juice, but there is no added sugar.  I like to have an occasional small glass of this juice. Also, we have a huge jug of organic salsa.  Sam eats salsa like the jug has legs and is going to run away from him (aka he eats a lot of it).  And it's good too!  And trust me, if it wasn't good I would tell you... Sam has become quite the salsa connoisseur since his Dad is the President of an all-natural salsa company called Simply Fresco.  And then, we have your good ole organic OJ, which is 100% NOT from concentrate orange juice.  The OJ came in a 2 pack. 

So there you have it!  Lot's of healthy stuff!  Needless to say, our pantry was very full after this trip, so we had to do some serious organization.  Keep in mind... we live in an apartment, so our pantry isn't all that large.  However, we were able to fit it all, and I was very happy with my organization... check it out! 

Oh, notice the box on the top shelf.  Ya, boxes are Costco's grocery bags.  But it turned out, this box was the perfect size and the perfect way to store our baking goods, flours, etc.  So we came out of Costco, not only with groceries, but with a cheap form or organization!  

We also bought a big bag of salt and pepper pistachios that I forgot to photograph for you.  Since the pistachios and Asain-rice mix came in such huge bags, we put them in individual tupperware so they would be easier to get to and see, and then we just refill the tupperware as needed. 

To the right of the pistachios and rice crackers we have a box filled with all the things we use to make granola or overnight oats.  Then the shoebox underneath the rice crackers and pistachios is filled with all sorts of bars.  Oh my gosh that reminds me! We also got a variety pack of Lara Bars and Mrs. Mays Trio Bars, which are SUPER as a snack, breakfast, or after a work out. Lara Bars have anywhere from 2-5 ingredients... that's it!!  And the Trio Bars are organic and have very good ingredients as well.  I have mentioned the Trio bars before.

So that was the Costco Comeback trip! We got a lot of things in bulk for a really good price, so we only need to make this trip to Costco 1-2 times a month, which is really nice.  We still buy all of our weekly items like produce, fruit, etc. at Central Market.  Well, I hope that might help you with your next grocery trip and maybe even save you some money by buying healthy food in bulk! 

On another note, something very fun and exciting is coming up this weekend, and I would like you to join me!!  I will be posting about that very soon so be on the look out for my next post because, trust me, it's going to be fun, and I know you're going to want to come! In the meantime, have a great start to your week.

With Love, Health, and Happiness,

Cami

images from:

http://www.jeffjonesillustration.com/stock-images/objects/793/grocery-cart-shopping/

http://www.amazon.com/LARABAR-Variety-Pack-Cashew-Cookie/dp/B0018C0XEW