I am proud to be a card-carrying Costco member, which
surprises many people because my husband and I live in a teeny one-bedroom
apartment. And it’s true that we don’t buy the expected items at Costco. I have
never once bought toilet paper or paper towels at Costco because we have no
place to store either (and we hardly use paper towels to begin with). I am also
not in the market for packaged foods, frozen meals or any of the store's home items.
Most of what I buy at Costco is healthy, whole food that we can actually fit
into our limited cabinet and fridge space. Here’s a list of 20 things I buy at
Costco regularly:
1 Nuts
I have a family member who owns a small nut farm, who
generously sends me big bags of walnuts and almonds each year, but I still need
nuts to carry me through a solid 12 months. Costco’s nut prices are unbeatable,
especially when it comes to pine nuts!
2 Cheese
Costco has quality cheese at bargain prices--thank goodness! We often buy
comte, Parmesean, cheddar, Boursin 3-packs (a guilty pleasure), brie and manchego. The Cabot cheddar blocks are a particularly delicious and good
deal that is great to have on-hand.
3 Produce
People don’t think of fresh produce when they think of
shopping at Costco, or if they do, they think, I have such a small family I
couldn’t possibly eat Costco-sized proportions. Your produce strategy at Costco
should be to buy things that are versatile and will last for many days, and much of Costco
produce fits the bill: Apples? Check. Citrus fruits? Check. Cherry tomatoes?
Check. Bell peppers? Check. For more perishable items, shop smart: Three English cucumbers are going
to be hard to eat for a family of two, but a bag of avocados can be stretched
over a week or two, if you check their ripeness and refrigerate accordingly. We
LOVE the living lettuces.
4 Dried Fruit
Dried fruit is always super-cheap at Costco. Apricots,
raisins, craisins, dried cherries, dried apricots and dried figs are all on my
Costco shopping list. However, I avoid the mixed dried fruit bags, which are
not as handy for cooking, and the dried blueberries, which weirdly taste salty
to me.
5 Frozen Shrimp
I always keep a bag of frozen, uncooked shrimp in the
freezer. In a pinch, you can defrost some frozen shrimp in about ten minutes
and use them as the base for a meal. Costco’s prices are on both uncooked and
cooked frozen shrimp are great.
6 Coffee Beans
If you bought nothing but coffee beans at Costco, it would
be worth the price of annual membership. Costco has GREAT coffee, and I am lead
to believe their beans are ethically-sourced, as well. We prefer the whole bean
coffee in the darkest roast available (don't pay extra for the Dunkin Donuts or Starbucks-branded beans, go Kirkland!).
7 Meat
Heavens, meat is so, so cheap at Costco! However, it really is
something that you can’t buy for day-to-day consumption with a small family, like
my family of two. That said, if you are planning a dinner party, head to
Costco! We are particularly fond of the leg of lamb and filet mignon.
8 Grey Poupon Mustard
Giant ketchup? No thanks. Two big jars of Grey Poupon for
$6? Yes, please! I personally prefer Maille to Grey Poupon, but the jumbo
two-pack of this brand is too good of a deal to pass up: Do it.
9 Olive Oil
They’re practically giving it away: Opt for extra-virgin.
Decant it into a smaller vessel. Done.
10 Canned Tomatoes
Costco frequently has organic, diced tomatoes in cases of six
cans. I prefer whole San Marzano tomatoes for a serious sauce, but if you have
the space to store extra cans, it really can’t hurt to have these on hand,
soups and sauces on-the-fly will become a whole lot easier.
11 Broth
Again, this is one of those pantry staples that is just so cheap
at Costco: If you have space, buy a case (vegetarian, chicken, broth, stock,
whatever suits your fancy) and have it on-hand.
12 Yogurt
Greek yogurt is super-affordable at Costco. I often buy a
big tub and a dozen individual yogurts. The individuals are weird flavors like
mango-star-fruit, but for the price, you really can’t complain (though Costco,
if you’re listening, we’d love to see the basic honey and the cherry flavor
appear at stores soon!).
13 Syrup and Honey
Real maple syrup and giant jars of honey are a real bargain
at Costco. These are both extra handy if you use them for making granola, as I
do.
14 Spices Salt and Pepper
Most spices are too damn big for my tastes at Costco, but if
you pick your battles, you can do well. Whole, black peppercorns are on my
permanent shopping list, and I keep getting drawn in by the pink, Himalayan
salt grinder whenever I visit.
15 Beer
Beer is cheap-tastic at Costco! We love a case of Heineken,
but the real gem only appears in summer months: Costco stocks what we call the
“Mexican sampler” which is a variety case of south-of-the-border beers, which are a
summer staple. (Note: Costco’s margarita mix also won a taste test when we were
tasting marg mixes for our wedding).
16 Oatmeal
The huge box of old-fashioned Quaker oats is a must. I eat
either oatmeal or homemade granola almost every morning, so we go through these
mega-packs of oats at an astonishing clip.
17 Bars
I am not a huge fan of most granola or energy bars, but
Costco stocks two brands that I can get behind: Larabar and Kashi bars. Both
are made from whole foods and don’t feel too sweet of processed.
18 Baked Goods
Sure, Costco’s pastries and baked goods are not
super-sophisticated, but, if you need to feed a crowd on a budget, dive
right in. My recommendations are as follows: The croissants are great for a
brunch; the ciabatta are more than serviceable; the pies are really pretty darn
tasty—anything else, and you’re on your own.
19 Frozen Berry Mix
Costco stocks a giant bag of frozen mixed berries that we
keep in the freezer at all times for smoothies and an impromptu pancake topping
(heat them in a pan with a little juice).
20 Water
We tend to drink tap water and jazz up seltzer in our
SodaStream, but for occasions when you need bottled water, it doesn’t get much
cheaper than Costco. Large jugs of plain, flat Poland Springs are super-duper
affordable.
Bonus: Rotisserie Chicken
Recently, I picked up my first Costco rotisserie chicken. I
think it cost $7. It wasn’t free range or organic or any of the things I value
in a chicken, but it was delicious and cheap as heck, and since I’d spent my
Monday evening at Costco, I didn’t have time to cook a chicken of my own.
Non-NY Bonus: BOOZE!
We can’t buy wine or liquor at Costco here in New York City,
but if we could, we would!
3 comments:
There's booze over here at the LIC Costco!
It appears that way, but actually, there's a liquor store right next door to that Coscto (the one on 3rd Ave in Brooklyn has the same set-up). The liquor store is a separate entity.
I buy most of these things too (plus the tp and pts). But also hummus, pita chips, 4-packs of small french bread, lamb chops, tuna. Our Costco has Peets coffee at a grreat price!
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