Is there anyone that actually sticks to their Costco shopping list when they go to Costco? If you do, I commend you, seriously! I don’t know if I am just old and boring now, but I love going to Costco. Not when it’s busy though, I avoid Costco like the plague on weekends and around holidays. I don’t love all the plastic packaging Costco uses, but I do what I can to reuse things. We also use Ridwell (free month trial, click here) to recycle a lot of the plastic film we acquire. Anyway, I wanted to share some of my favorite Costco products. Most of these products are things we buy regularly, so I stand behind their quality and taste. They all meet my standard for clean ingredients and most of them are organic.
Costco Produce
I know that it doesn’t make sense for everyone to buy produce at Costco, especially if you have a small family. However, as a family of only three, we still go through a lot of produce and it makes sense for us to buy some produce in bulk. We get a local, organic produce box weekly from Klesick’s family farm, so we only buy some of our produce at Costco. If you are local to Snohomish County in Washington state and are interested in the produce box we get from Klesicks, check out their Box of Good here. (Tell them the Heeringas sent you). Below are some produce items we get at Costco.
Earthbound Farms Organic Power Greens– this is my favorite for smoothies. It’s a mix of baby chard, baby spinach and baby kale.
Windset Farm Organic Cucumbers– cucumbers are a staple at our house, we all love them. Yes, we go through this 3-pack before it goes bad! I hate all the single-use plastic they use in the packaging of these cucumbers, but I let it slide for these.
Zucchini and Yellow Squash– these are really easy to add to any dish without changing the flavor. Zucchini and squash are easy vegetables to hide in dishes from picky eaters! We shred, chop or spiralize squash and zucchinis and add them to soups, chili, spaghetti, etc. I also use them in my quiche recipe and chicken sausage bake recipe.
Dandy Organic Celery– I go through a lot of celery every week, because I drink a glass of celery juice every morning. Read about the benefits of celery juice here. This is the celery I use; we buy at least 6 bags every Costco trip.
Zespri SunGold Kiwis– If you haven’t tried SunGold kiwis, you have to grab some on your next trip. They are SO good, regular kiwis can be somewhat sour and bitter, these guys are so sweet and delicious. Now if they came in cardboard, instead of plastic, I’d be a much happier camper.
Condiments at Costco
Can you tell I love Primal Kitchen? Their Avocado Oil Mayo is my all-time favorite mayo. I use it in my dairy free homemade ranch recipe, so we go through it pretty fast. I haven’t tried the Primal Kitchen chipotle lime mayo or the buffalo sauce, but they both have great, clean ingredients and I would highly recommend them. We do the majority of our cooking with avocado oil and olive oil, Chosen Foods is one of our go-tos for avocado oil. The Kirkland Signature almond butter is what I use in my famous (okay maybe not famous, but famous with my friends and family) flourless brownie recipe, check it out here.
Costco Snacks
These are all great, clean snack options that my daughter loves. She did get tired of the mango bites pretty fast, but I LOVED them! I finished off the bag by myself. The sprouted pumpkin seeds are great by themselves or you can add them on top of a salad. I have also used them on top of my pumpkin muffins to add a nice salty crunch.
Once Upon a Farm Organic Fruit & Veggie Blends– These are the best pouches for kids, I was so excited when I saw them at Costco recently! Once Upon a Farm pouches are made with organic cold-pressed fruits and veggies without any added sugar, preservatives or artificial ingredients. Find them in the refrigerated section. Here’s $10 off your first order of $60 or more on their website if your Costco doesn’t carry them. Their website has tons of other products too.
Made Good Granola Minis– These granola bites and their granola bars are a great alternative to most granola bars on the market. They use gluten free and organic oats. This is important because most conventional oats test very high for glyphosate. Additionally, oats do not contain gluten, but are very easily cross contaminated. Made Good brand products are nut free and school safe.
UNREAL Dark Chocolate Coconut Minis– I talked about this brand in my Halloween Candy Swap post last fall. This brand has several “healthier” candy options, they use less sugar and cleaner ingredients. Plus, this brand has alternatives for M&Ms, peanut butter cups, almond butter cups and Snickers. Check out all their products here.
Baking Products at Costco
Volupta Cacao Powder– We use a lot of cacao powder in our house, mainly in my brownie recipe that I mentioned above. Cacao powder has more minerals than cocoa powder because the beans are less processed. Read more here about why cacao is better.
Nature’s Intent Organic Chia Seeds– Chia seed pudding is one of my favorite, easy breakfast ideas. Here’s the recipe I use. The health benefits of chia seeds are amazing, read about them here.
Just About Foods Organic Gluten Free Flour– I just recently saw this at my local Costco and had to try it. It uses rice flour, flaxseed flour, tapioca starch, oat flour, white sorghum flour, gum arabic and salt. Unfortunately, I haven’t tried it yet, so I can’t give you any feedback yet. I will update this as soon as I try it though!
Coconut Water and Juice Shots
Coconut Water– Costco recently came out with their own brand of refrigerated coconut water. It tastes just as good as my favorite, Harmless Harvest, but it’s cheaper! I’ve never been a huge coconut water fan, until I found Harmless Harvest. It tastes like cupcakes, sounds weird, but it totally does. We use coconut water in our smoothies and just to drink. Both these brands of coconut water are great because they don’t have any other added ingredients, just coconut water. I do like that the Kirkland Signature brand comes in a box and is cheaper, so I will most likely be switching, sorry Harmless Harvest!
Suja Immunity Defense Shots– We also buy these Suja immunity shots regularly, although I haven’t seen them in a couple months. I know that fresh juice is better and I do occasionally make juice shots. However, these are really convenient. Whenever my husband or I feel like we need an extra boost, we down one of these and we swear they help. The organic ingredients are- coconut water, pineapple juice, ginger juice, turmeric juice, orange juice, lime juice, echinacea extract, probiotics and ground black pepper.
Dinner Ingredients for Your Costco Shopping List
Siete Almond Flour Tortillas– Gluten free tortilla with good ingredients are hard to find, not to mention expensive. I was so happy to find Siete brand at Costco! While they aren’t organic, they at least have simple, limited ingredients. Just almond flour, tapioca flour, water, sea salt and xanthan gum.
Kirkland Signature Organic Marinara– Costco just added this marinara from Tuscany, so now they have two great options. (I’m not sure if the Tuscany version is here to stay or here for a limited time). I love that they both come in glass, not plastic. Always check your marinara ingredients, look for clean, organic ingredients without added sugar.
Jovial Organic Brown Rice Penne– I was so excited to see Costco carries Jovial pasta now! This is hands down the best gluten free pasta, I have tried them all. Even my gluten-loving husband likes this pasta! Jovial carries tons of different shapes, but so far I have only found the penne at Costco.
Aidells Organic Chicken & Apple Sausage– This sausage is a staple in our house. I add it to spaghetti, I use it in my chicken sausage sheet pan dinner, I’ve added it to rice and veggies, or any dish that needs some protein. I keep it in the freezer, it thaws quickly and is really easy to cook/heat up. Plus, the ingredients are clean and organic without any nitrites or sugar.
Other Costco Must Haves
Maple Syrup– We go through a lot of maple syrup, we use it as sweetener in a lot of different recipes like my pumpkin banana streusel muffins. We usually get the Kirkland Signature (I don’t love the plastic jug), but they also had this glass bottle of bourbon barrel aged maple syrup around the holidays. I was pretty excited, I wish I had stocked up!
Organic Quinoa– I like quinoa, but I don’t eat it often enough to buy a Costco bag. This is a great option though if you love quinoa.
Organic Riced Cauliflower– Riced Cauliflower is great to have on hand at all times. You can use it in place of rice or you can add it to any homemade meal to add some extra veggies. I add riced cauliflower to spaghetti, chili, soup, etc. It’s a great way to hide veggies for the picky eaters!
Kirkland Signature Organic Hemp Hearts– We have recently started using a lot of hemp hearts in our house, we use it in smoothies, on top of smoothie bowls, on avocado toast and on salads. I have also made hemp milk sweetened with dates. Highly recommend adding these into your diet, read about what makes them so nutritious here.
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