Well, I didn’t actually take a picture of my Costco grocery cart last weekend after spending what seemed like hours in the mammoth store (the crowd there makes me crazy; too much). However, I did snap a few pictures. I asked on Instagram Stories if Y’all wanted me to share my Costco grocery cart, and everyone said, “Yes. Please do.”

So here you go.

My Costco Grocery Cart

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Let’s first get this out of the way. The Costco I shopped at last weekend was the one in Burnsville, Minnesota. If you’ve ever gone to more than one Costco, then you know that they do not all carry the same thing. 

When we lived in California, I found so many things at the Costco in Livermore that I could never find at the one in Tracy. Hence why I did The Real Food Shopping Guide for Costco at Livermore instead of Tracy. 

But for my friends who live in Minnesota, don’t think we are being shorted here on the quality items. I think the Burnsville Costco is better than the one in Livermore and definitely better than the one in Tracy.

With that said, here is what was in my Costco grocery cart. As a little extra, I’ve made some notes next to each. All items are gluten free because, naturally, about 90%+ of the things in our house are gluten free.

1. Teton Waters Ranch Sausage. I was introduced to Teton Waters Ranch at Expo West this past March and fell in love. They are incredible. We all love them; Ryan, the kids, and I.
2. Organic Ground Turkey, triple pack. Turkey is good for almost any diet, and because this is ground, it’s versatile. 
3. Organic Ground Beef, triple pack. Similar to the turkey, I love having a triple pack on hand so I can make it up whenever. We form these into patties a lot for burger night. 
4. Wild Planet Albacore Tuna. Wild Planet is my favorite, but if you buy the cans individually at most stores, it’s expensive (like $3+ per can). It’s still not an inexpensive item, but it’s a high-quality tuna that you can eat on-the-go or make into a Cheesy Tuna Casserole (my version is gluten, grain, and dairy free). 
5. Organic Apples. I’m eating these right now because they are high-FODMAP (while I’m taking Rifaximin and Neomycin). 
6. Organic Greek Yogurt. This is 100% for Samarah. She has yogurt and honey almost every single morning for breakfast. Isaiah and Amiya can’t do dairy, so I try to have her sneak it around them as much as possible to avoid meltdowns.
7. Wild Alaskan Pink Salmon. I do similar things with this as I do the tuna. It’s an easy way to boost the Omega-3’s and a great Vegetarian option. 
8. Organic Whole Milk. This is also 100% for Samarah, but sometimes Ryan has a glass, too.
9. Simple Mills Sea Salt Crackers. I started buying these for Isaiah and Amiya, but now I can’t stop eating them. Simple Mills is just so good (their whole line of products), so when I saw their jumbo boxes of crackers at Costco, I was super excited (Amiya was, too!). I think the box contains 2-3 bags and it’s $8.99. 
10. Organic Amylou Breakfast Sausages. I first found these in California, but then one day, the Tracy location stopped carrying them. We missed them, so when they popped up at Costco in Minnesota, we stocked up immediately. If you go to the Burnsville Costco you will find them to your right just before you enter the walk-in dairy fridge.
11. Organic French Green Beans. I have found that with almost any of our digestive issues, green beans are one of the few vegetables we can all do. So we eat a lot of them. My kids love them, too, but the secret is that you have to drench them in oil. Lately they have been digging the Nutiva Coconut Oil with Butter and Garlic Flavors.
12. Earthbound Farm Power Greens. Sometimes I make large salads with this, but usually the reason I buy it is for making the kid’s smoothies. I have been making a lot of low-FODMAP smoothies for everyone, and this greens blend is great for it. 
13. Organic Baby Carrots, the jumbo bag. Snacks. Amiya and Isaiah mostly love these for snacks. Sam will eat them with lots of some sort of dip. I also use these to roast with my whole chickens because I love when they are doused with oil and softened.
14. Organic Valley Stringles String Cheese. Again, 100% for Samarah. She’s the only one who does a ton of dairy in this house.
15. Duke’s Smoked Shorty Sausages. I had never seen these before, but they are mini sausage sticks in a large bag. It was my impulse buy for the day and I picked them up for Ryan to keep with him at work. 
16. 5 lb bag baby potatoes. I can’t tell you how many times a week we have roasted potatoes. We basically toggle between rice, root veggies, and potatoes every single night. For these, all I do is slice thin, toss with a ton of Olive Oil and bake for about 45 minutes – an hour at 400 degrees. The kids absolutely love them! I love dipping them in Sir Kensington’s mustard. 
17. Avocados, bag. Samarah, Ryan, and I eat a lot of avocado. It’s high-FODMAP so I’m on a major avo kick currently. 
18. Organic Whole Chicken, double pack. And of course the whole chicken. It’s hard for me to justify chicken breasts when it’s so much cheaper to buy the whole chicken. I love baking a whole chicken for dinner because after we’ve eaten all the meat, I can then save the bones in the freezer for bone broth time. This double pack was about $20 and that goes a long ways. 

Let it be known that I would have bought at least 3 bags of bananas but Costco was completely sold out of them. Like, whaaaat?!

I meant to save my receipt, but when I went to look for it, it was nowhere to be found, so I’m guessing I threw it out on accident. 

Because I threw it out, I think that was my Costco grocery cart in its entirety, but what I do know for sure is that the total was $190.00. Though it might seem like a lot, the bulk of what I bought that day was meat so naturally it would be higher. Also, this will last us 2-3 weeks (for some of the items) and if you’ve never been around my kids at mealtime, you must know that they (literally) usually out eat Ryan and I (especially Isaiah).

Costco is that place where I will buy most things Organic because:

1. I know, like, and already trust the brand and it just happens to be Organic (i.e. Organic Valley and Earthbound) or
2. It’s Costco, so the Organic version is not that much more expensive than the regular or
3. I still have a thing with meat, and whenever possible, I have to buy Organic because I know it can matter in meat (also, since I’m in the natural foods industry, I know what top natural foods brands do for private labeling 🙂 )

I hope you’ve enjoyed my Costco grocery cart. I like the grocery shopping cart posts because I’m trying to give practical ways to buy and eat for your family, so if you’d like me to do more, just let me know! I’m happy to do other grocery stores, more finds at Costco, online shopping, any of it. I am doing some sort of food shopping probably 3 days a week.

Xox,
SKH

Sarah Kay Hoffman

You will heal. I will help.

http://childlike-sports.flywheelsites.com