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Favorite Costco Buys for Small Families

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Costco gets a bad rap for being a bulk food/item provider. While it is true, being a small family shouldn’t keep you from shopping at Costco.

Find a more recent post on costco buys here.

Honestly, we go there so often, we have the aisles of that place memorized and definitely have our favorite products! We always make sure to leave with at least one favorite Costco buy in cart, (although, sometimes we leave with all).

I remember the days when I didn’t have a Costco membership. Boy, I did not know what I was missing out on!

There are soo many great buys at Costco! In fact, Scott & I benefited from Costco trips even before we had kids, so don’t think you need a huge family to partake of the Costco goodness!

Related Posts: Macro Friendly Costco Buys

Top Costco buys for small families! You don't need to have a ton of people to take advantage of the great deals!

Here are some things from Costco that our small family LOVES!

Favorite Costco buy # 1: OILS.

Kirkland Signature Canola Oil Cooking Spray.

It is 14 cents per ounce! You can’t beat that! Even Walmart has it at practically double that price. I use cooking spray for just about every recipe, it is the best way to ensure you are not using too much oil (gotta prevent those discretionary calories am I right?). I get two huge cans from Costco for around $5.

Oil.

You know I’m a huge fan of Canola Oil (because of the omega 6s), but we are olive oil lovers too! We ALWAYS buy our canola & olive oil from Costco. Each comes with 2 large containers that last us months, and it is a far better deal than oil from the grocery store.

Favorite Costco buy#2: Pure Vanilla Extract.

I love using pure vanilla extra in my 3 ingredient Banana Shakes, which (at David’s request) I make just about every day!

Favorite Costco buy #3: Scoop Away Cat Litter.

We actually JUST bought this. Be forewarned. You will be tempted to buy the cat litter that comes in a green container instead because it is a little cheaper, but don’t! It doesn’t clump! We bought that last time and it was the WORST!

Favorite Costco buy #4: Rotisserie chicken in all forms.

Top Costco buys for small families! You don't need to have a ton of people to take advantage of the great deals!

We have always loved the classic rotisserie Costco offers. It’s twice as big and a few bucks cheaper than the grocery store. It’s not uncommon to see us leave Costco with just rotisserie chicken in our cart (or rotisseries & protein bars as pictured above)

BUT I just recently discovered rotisserie chicken breast meat in a vacuum sealed pack to the right of the warm rotisserie chicken.

It’s priced at $4.99/pound, which is more expensive than raw chicken and probably comes out about even with the fresh rotisserie once you subtract the weight of the bones, but it is so unbelievably convenient.

I throw this on salads or use it for chicken tacos all week and the BEST part is: it’s already pulled off the bones and roughly shredded! This saves me soo much time! Honestly, I just discovered this two Costco trips ago and now it’s all we buy.

Favorite Costco buy #5: Romaine Lettuce.

You can buy 6 heads of romaine for cheaper than the grocery store. You want to make sure, before you buy, that you will eat actually all that lettuce!

Even though you are getting it at practically half the price, we like to make sure we have plenty of lettuce based meals planned the week following. It doesn’t have to be all Caesar Salads either, think burgers in a lettuce bun or taco salad!

When we buy our romaine we like to do something we call “7 days of salads.” During this time I will make sure our menu plan incorporates salad as a main meal for either lunch or dinner for seven whole days.

This ensures we use up our salad before it starts to wilt & gives us a nice little break from our usual meals. These salads don’t have to be boring either! We like to get creative. Stay tuned & I will show you what I mean in some upcoming salad posts 😉

Favorite Costco buy #6: Fruit.

Oh fruit. We never leave Costco with out checking out which seasonal fresh fruits are available. Not only is it cheaper, but Costco fruit is typically better quality.

We love getting grapes, strawberries, nectarines, and mangoes. In fact, once June rolls around & those mangoes are looking extra tasty, we probably buy 2 packs a week! That’s right, this means that sometimes we stop by Costco & leave with JUST mangoes!

We might be the only ones to leave the store spending less than $100 (or, even more rare, less than $10)!

Favorite Costco buy #7: Beef Jerky.

This has quickly become a Costco haul staple for us. We love the Oberto brand. My mom used to throw it in my lunch box on school field trips. It is high in protein & super low in fat so it makes for a really great, quick snack.

We are lucky to have the largest Costco in the country less than 15 miles from us, so we tend to get a little more variety than average.

At this Costco they have the single serving packs as well as the normal Costco two pack. We buy both. The single servings are for Scott’s work lunches & the larger packs are for us to snack on at home.

Favorite Costco buy #8: Protein.

Top costco buys for small families

Scott goes through protein powder like crazy. We typically go for whichever brand is on sale, right now that’s Cytosport 100% Whey Protein Powder. Basically as long as the grams of protein are high and the carbs & fats are low we are happy.

Favorite Costco buy #9: Tillamook Cheddar Cheese.

I’m really not a yellow cheese person, but when I asked Scott what his favorite thing we buy from Costco is, he said the Tillamook cheese is what he gets most excited for.

We buy the pre-sliced version and Scott and our son, David, will snack on it from time to time. I don’t even think it ever makes it to a sandwich.

Favorite Costco buy #10: Spaghetti Squash.

Okay, so they don’t always have this, but when they do we snatch it up! It is seriously half the price of the grocery store Spaghetti Squash which we all know is pretty pricey. S

paghetti squash keeps pretty well, but if you’re afraid of it spoiling, we like to make the “noodles” the same day and then stick them in freezer bags in our freezer until we need them.

Favorite Costco buy #11: Queso Fresco.

We are avid Mexican food fans in this house, which means queso fresco is a must for us! It can be about $4 for a small pack at the grocery store, but at Costco you can get a huge double pack for practically the same price.

Just make sure to open each pack when you plan on having a lot of Mexican food/guests in the near future to avoid it spoiling before you can finish it all.

Favorite Costco buy #12: Avocado.

We buy avocados every trip as long as Costco has them. During the summer, I make fresh guac every week!

Favorite Costco buy #13: Granola.

We love it. We add the Quaker Oats granola to our yogurt parfaits that we meal prep each week. We also sometimes eat it plain as cereal.

Favorite Costco buy #14: Frozen Meats.

I can’t believe I almost forgot this one! We buy all our meats & seafood from the frozen section of Costco. Whether it be shrimp, salmon, chicken breast, tilapia, what have you. We love it! It doesn’t go bad. It’s cheap. And we always have it readily available for week night dinners.

Favorite Costco buy #15: Paper Plates.

Yes. We use paper plates every week; not every meal, but every week. I cook so often, anytime I can give myself a small break from dishes with some paper plates I am on board!

Top Costco buys for small families! You don't need to have a ton of people to take advantage of the great deals!

Alright. I think that about covers it. Of course, these aren’t the only things we buy from Costco, but they are our favorites.

We also like eggs, mushrooms, cottage cheese, bell peppers, diapers, baby wipes, toilet paper, etc. But the point is: you don’t have to have a big family to benefit from these deals!

In fact, wanna know a little secret? You don’t have to buy a ton of things when you shop at Costco. You can leave after only spending $5! We’ve done it plenty of times! Just try and go during a time that is not busy–that means avoid Saturdays at all costs!

Top Costco buys for small families! You don't need to have a ton of people to take advantage of the great deals!

Curious what we make with all this “healthy” food? Check out our recipes tab for some ideas!

Updated Post: Macro Friendly Costco Buys

Elsi

Tuesday 14th of July 2020

When you have an excess of romaine, you can cook it. It's amazing to just slice the head in half vertically, spritz with some oil, and grill it. But I also cook it just like spinach and substitute for spinach in various recipes. And, if you're going to cook it, you can freeze it for later!

Lexi @ That Fit Fam

Tuesday 14th of July 2020

really?! I had no clue! I'll have to try that soon. Thanks for the tip =)

Shelby

Wednesday 4th of September 2019

Made to decision to swap over to Costco from Sam’s today! This article definitely reassured me on our decision, loved your enthusiasm!! I will definitely be checking out some of your recipes as well. ☺️

Lexi @ That Fit Fam

Wednesday 4th of September 2019

thank you! Costco is one of our favorite "grocery" stores to shop at. I'm confident you will be happy you made the switch =)

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