Do you feel overwhelmed by choices when you step into Costco? Keep reading for my tips on adding nutrient density and saving $$ at Costco!
Shopping at Costco (or any price club) is commonplace in America. People are lured into the store looking for a bargain and can sometimes (🙋♀️me included) walk out spending more money than they want. Often, you also can't finish the food you buy from Costco. Let's say you're on a mission to add more nutrient density to your diet, how do you navigate the flashy marketing messages and deals at Costco?
My clients are always asking me what I buy from Costco. I think there are great advantages to shopping at Costco and I encourage my clients to shop there! However, I don't recommend buying every single "healthy" food from Costco. I have a specific methodology for how I shop for my family and how I recommend my clients shop for theirs as well. I'll also show you a few of my favorite or my client's favorite things to buy at Costco at the end of this post! Here are my recommendations for making a game plan at Costco:
Do's:
Make a grocery list, and meal plan in advance, and stick to it
Build in time to meal prep after your Costco Trip
Stock up on organic produce if it is a priority for you
Consider expiration dates of food
Don'ts:
Avoid marketing traps such as "healthy swaps" like cauliflower pizza crusts for regular pizza crusts
Avoid buying supplements unless you know you like them
Recommendation 1: Make a grocery list and meal plan BEFORE getting to Costco.
The quantities at Costco are by definition larger than life. When you make your Costco grocery list, make a specific game plan for the meals and snacks you want to make with the food on your grocery list. For example, buying a big bag of bell peppers? Make sure you have hummus on hand to dip them in. Find 1-2 recipes that include bell peppers in them. Don't just assume you will use the bell peppers, have an active plan to eat them.
At my house, I write a produce inventory on a dry-erase board on my fridge. This keeps me honest about what produce I must eat before it goes bad.
Recommendation 2: Build in time for meal prep
Let's keep this bell pepper example going. After you get home from Costco, consider meal-prepping the items you purchased. I don't mean making some fancy meal, I mean simple things like washing produce, chopping it into snack sizes, and portioning it into snack bags. Cut a few peppers and put them in Tupperware so it's easy to snack on.
Recommendation 3: Maybe stock up on organic produce
Is it important for you or your family to buy organic produce? I recommend you shop at Costco for organic produce because it's fairly economical compared to regular grocery store chain prices. However, there is no evidence to support the claim that organic food is more nutritious or safer than conventional produce (Smith-Spangler et al., 2012).
Some studies have suggested a relationship between pesticide consumption and increased risk of cardiovascular disease (Chiu et al., 2019). This study only demonstrates an association between the pesticides in conventional produce and CV disease risk.
That being said, I know it's important to many families to buy organic! I think that's awesome and I fully support this decision. However, the current body of evidence is not strong enough to change my recommendation to exclusively buy organic food and avoid conventional produce. From my RDN desk, I still think a conventional apple is better than no apple at all!
Recommendation 4: Consider Expiration dates
This one is very specific to your household but as a general rule of thumb, I don't typically purchase anything that expires in under a week unless I plan to eat the food in the next day or so. This allows time for the consumption of leftovers before the food expires.
Also, remember to freeze portions of protein or fresh produce that you don't anticipate eating right away. Good examples of this are salmon, chicken, ground meat, and fresh berries. Portion these out into how much your family will eat and freeze the rest.
Recommendation 5: Avoid the marketing traps of Costco
In my private practice, I educate my clients about the importance of the food matrix and why it's important to choose whole food when possible. The food matrix is the chemical structure of food, and how it impacts our body's ability to absorb the vitamins, minerals, and macronutrients in food. It's important to consume food in its whole form when possible, so we can absorb as much nutrition as possible. This is why I counsel my clients to avoid most supplements Costco sells (including most protein supplements). However, this is very individualized and I recommend you reach out to me with questions about your specific situation.
I also encourage my clients to make peace with food and avoid only consuming foods that they feel are "healthy", e.g., buying cauliflower pizza crusts in place of regular pizza. When I work with my clients, I really emphasize the importance of dietary change over the lifespan. For most people, this includes eating pizza at some point. This is why I recommend my clients accept that pizza is a part of their life, and avoid only eating it in its "fad diet" form of cauliflower pizza crust pizza. Fad diet swaps are often not as satisfying as the real deal and leave us feeling hungry as well. Reach out to me if you have questions about this!
Finally, here is my personal grocery list for Costco:
One protein food - this trip I bought chicken thighs
Berries if they are in season, I choose to buy organic
One other in-season fruit
Sparkling water (whatever's on sale)
A grain staple if I'm out of it - today it was Quinoa
2% Greek Yogurt
Kirkland Pesto (IYKYK)
Peanut Butter: I eat PB daily so we go through it a lot
Snacks for my kids with fiber: Mary's Superseed crackers, Applesauce, That's it bars
Fancy Olive Oil because it is cheaper here and we use a lot of it
Rao's Tomato sauce (the price is unbeatable)
References
Smith-Spangler, C., Brandeau, M. L., Hunter, G. E., Bavinger, J. C., Pearson, M., Eschbach, P. J., Sundaram, V., Liu, H., Schirmer, P., Stave, C., Olkin, I., & Bravata, D. M. (2012). Are organic foods safer or healthier than conventional alternatives? Annals of Internal Medicine, 157(5), 348. https://doi.org/10.7326/0003-4819-157-5-201209040-00007
Chiu, Y. H., Sandoval-Insausti, H., Ley, S. H., Bhupathiraju, S. N., Hauser, R., Rimm, E. B., Manson, J. E., Sun, Q., & Chavarro, J. E. (2019). Association between intake of fruits and vegetables by pesticide residue status and coronary heart disease risk. Environment international, 132, 105113. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envint.2019.105113
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