Thursday, September 30, 2010

Care's Costco Picks!

Quite frankly Costco makes me happy. Pushing that huge cart through aisles of over-sized products in quantities I could not consume in a lifetime some how makes me smile. I find items I did not even know I needed. With seemingly good deals around every corner its important to be smart when shopping at a store like Costco. While much of what they sell can be a good value, make sure you aren't sacrificing quality for quantity and check the per unit price compared to your local stores. Sometimes getting 8 of something is not really saving you money, especially if you cant eat it before it goes bad. I often split packed items with friends/family- great way to share the savings!

Here are a few of my Costco tips:
 
Meat- check out their fresh fish, steaks, chicken. They also have some great prepared meats like chicken skewers and my favorite chicken meatballs. I use these meatballs with pasta, on sandwiches, cut up on pizza. Or go meatless with Gardenburger patties.

2 packs of meatballs- easy to freeze- use in pasta, cut up on pizza

Vegetables- When picking out veggies- check the pack date and make sure you reach to the back of the shelf to get one that was packed most recently (thus lasting longer). My favorites money savers are mini-peppers, cherry tomatoes, avocados, edamame and mushrooms.
Perfect healthy snack
Baby bella's are my fav- great to saute
Grains, nuts- They have a great selection of grains, nuts and pasta. They are now offering whole wheat pasta options and grains like Quinoa. 
 
These are family staple! Great ravioli with herb blend
This bag was under $10- huge savings. New favorite grain
Naan bread is great soaks up sauce well!
Great sub for croutons on a salad

Toppings- Who doesn't love toppings and sauces? My staples from Costco include pesto, tzatziki, feta. Just make sure you only buy items you will be able to finish by the perishable date. 
These tomatoes are great on pizzas
Not just for greek food! Think pasta, salad
I could eat this whole jar in a week!
Perfect blend of sweet and spicy
Be sure to check our their cheese too- great quality aged products like Manchego, Parmesean, Gouda. Another surprise is the seasonings. I love their sea salt and pepper grinders and the dried herbs are the best price you'll find anywhere. 
With so much to choose from- you'll need plenty of time to walk around the enjoy! Thanks for the great blog idea Michelle.

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