Not impressed with Costco!!

Azdak

As someone said: Costco is not a grocery store--it's not a "one-stop shop" kind of place. Their business model is based on having a relatively limited number of items in low-rotation and bulk volumes. And they are going to cater to the largest possible audience. As far as the giant pieces of meat go, I have only one thing to say: Butterfly Cut. That's what I do to the chicken breasts and pork chops--otherwise they take all day to cook. I also chop up the stew meat. I rarely buy steaks at Costco, mostly because I just don't feel like shelling out $25 or $35 for one item--I only make a steak a couple of times a month for my wife and I usually just get a small cut on sale at the local grocery.

First thing when I get home is divide up all the meats and store them in separate freezer bags so everything is weighed out in the sizes I want.

That being said, I find that Costco has some awesome healthy food values. Here are just a few:

Whole wheat English muffins--about 1/2 price compared to the grocery store.
Egg substitutes
Organic eggs --50% less than in the regular grocery.
Marantha Almond Butter--ungodly cheap
Ed Smith preserves
Red Peppers
Romaine
Organic Brown Rice
Quinoa
Organic free range chicken broth--the whole case costs the same as 2 boxes at the grocery
Almonds
Guacamole
Walnuts
Spices
Canned tomatoes and tomato sauce
Black beans
TLC granola bars
Kashi Go Lean cereal
Milk
Alaskan wild sockeye salmon--about $8.50 a pound
Roasted soy nuts
Whole wheat pasta

I could go on and on. No, they aren't perfect and the complaints about limited choices could be said about a number of items, but there is no way I could have lost my weight and eaten healthy w/out Costco. I just accept as part of my routine that I go to Costco once or twice a month and then to the regular grocery store every week--I find it hard to buy fruit or produce at Costco because there are only 3 of us at home and it usually goes bad.

There is a Whole Foods right across the street from the Costco that I go to most often. Often I stop in at the Whole Foods, go around the store and taste all the samples, leave without buying anything and then drive over to Costco to shop.

Did someone call me schnorer?

mrsbeck

Ha! You're totally a schnorer!! :laugh:

I love Costco, and I use it much the same way that you do, Azdak. I hit Costco about once a month, stock up on meats and seafood, sometimes produce if I think I have enough appetite for a particular item to actually use up the big package before it goes bad. Then to the regular grocery store weekly for the stuff I can't get at Costco.

I love the 1 ounce snack packs of hummus. Also, I often get a 10 lb pork loin for about 11 dollars. It splits into three or four meals easily, so very cost efficient. Pretty much anything I buy at Costco gets repackaged to a smaller portion immediately.

July24Lioness

I thought I posted this last night, but apparently it didn't post...............

I used to shop at Costo and Sam's club. We moved from Virginia to Illinois and I have a Sam's club right down the road from my house so we kept that membership. Costo is in St Louis and about a 30 mile drive, so we let it run out................

I like Sam's club for some things.

LittleSpy

The US always has way better variety of lower fat items, especially cheese than here in Canada.

I found this sentence intriguing (because which country obviously has more of an issue with health problems related to obesity? Is the "light" version available because of the problem? Or is the problem partly a result of the "light" marketing?).

One of my biggest problems with marketing/packaging/ignorance is that terms "low fat" and "light/lite" do NOT mean healthy. Neither does "reduced sodium" or "no sugar added" or "low carb." Most of the time it's a marketing scam. :ohwell: It's such a shame.

BigdaddyJ

The US always has way better variety of lower fat items, especially cheese than here in Canada.

I found this sentence intriguing (because which country obviously has more of an issue with health problems related to obesity? Is the "light" version available because of the problem? Or is the problem partly a result of the "light" marketing?).

One of my biggest problems with marketing/packaging/ignorance is that terms "low fat" and "light/lite" do NOT mean healthy. Neither does "reduced sodium" or "no sugar added" or "low carb." Most of the time it's a marketing scam. :ohwell: It's such a shame.

You're right!

When it says "low fat", you still need to read the nutritionnal info, they often replace fat with artificial flavors that holds a LOT of sodium....
As for the coutry differences, did you know that Canada has the most sodium added to their food?

LuckyLeprechaun

just to add to the list of awesome stuff costco carries (well mine does, anyway)

Oroweat Sandwich Thins
0% Fage Greek Yogurt
Edamame (SO CHEAP)
all the produce

YAY for costco

but I still need Safeway to get all the other stuff :laugh:

catherine1979

The US always has way better variety of lower fat items, especially cheese than here in Canada.

I found this sentence intriguing (because which country obviously has more of an issue with health problems related to obesity? Is the "light" version available because of the problem? Or is the problem partly a result of the "light" marketing?).

One of my biggest problems with marketing/packaging/ignorance is that terms "low fat" and "light/lite" do NOT mean healthy. Neither does "reduced sodium" or "no sugar added" or "low carb." Most of the time it's a marketing scam. :ohwell: It's such a shame.

You're right!

When it says "low fat", you still need to read the nutritionnal info, they often replace fat with artificial flavors that holds a LOT of sodium....
As for the coutry differences, did you know that Canada has the most sodium added to their food?

If you're talking packaged and fast foods, yeah, we (Canada) are just about the worst. Interesting, though, because our rates of high blood pressure, while not great, are still lower than the US.

Must be all the snowbanks we have to climb over!

BigdaddyJ

Could be politics too.....errr wait no, just saw Harper on TV and my BP went up!! Not politics! lol

catherine1979

Could be politics too.....errr wait no, just saw Harper on TV and my BP went up!! Not politics! lol

Oh Lord, that guy! What the heck is up with his hair, that makes my blood pressure rise!

BigdaddyJ

I think he uses more hairspray than my wife ever did in the 90's!!

wildjoker81

Well the wholesale food markets like sams, costco and pace (from wayyy back in the day) were opened to cater to business owners who buy in bulk for catering and/or resturants. Up til recently, healthy eating people wasn't their market, just cheap, bulk foods. So IMHO we should be very impressed with the fact that these places are just starting to do this.

DawnOf1969

The US always has way better variety of lower fat items, especially cheese than here in Canada.

I found this sentence intriguing (because which country obviously has more of an issue with health problems related to obesity? Is the "light" version available because of the problem? Or is the problem partly a result of the "light" marketing?).

One of my biggest problems with marketing/packaging/ignorance is that terms "low fat" and "light/lite" do NOT mean healthy. Neither does "reduced sodium" or "no sugar added" or "low carb." Most of the time it's a marketing scam. :ohwell: It's such a shame.

You're right!

When it says "low fat", you still need to read the nutritionnal info, they often replace fat with artificial flavors that holds a LOT of sodium....
As for the coutry differences, did you know that Canada has the most sodium added to their food?

I really only use fat-free or reduced versions of things to reduce calories and I make sure to calculate the increased sodium into my daily intake.
it takes me like 3 hours to get groceries because of reading and comparing labels!

Azdak

just to add to the list of awesome stuff costco carries (well mine does, anyway)

Oroweat Sandwich Thins
0% Fage Greek Yogurt
Edamame (SO CHEAP)
all the produce

YAY for costco

but I still need Safeway to get all the other stuff :laugh:

You have Fage at your Costo?

I'm jealous. I live in the Chicago suburbs and we have Chobani--6 oz cups with the fruit on the bottom. It's better than nothing (and about 1/2 the cost in the grocery store), but I wish I had a "plain" option to mix with my organic frozen berries (also from Costco).

Whole Foods has the Fage, but it's like $7 for 32 oz--azzie don't play that!

mvl1014

Costco will reply to your email, just hold your horses.

IsMollyReallyHungry

Costco is not Trader Joes, or Whole Foods, BUT--they do have a lot of great healthy stuff--produce second to none. Excellent seafood--except for the farmed Atlantic salmon--phooey), also organic options, protein shakes, protein bars, healthy snacks, are hiding in there, along with the giant packages of candy bars. Remember that a lot of smaller independent retailers purchase items for resale from Costco, and they have to give their customers what they ask for, so of course they carry "mainstream" products..

As for the low sodium juice option mentioned before, I have 3 CASES of low sodium v8 juice in my garage right now, purchased at Costco from last month's coupon book, when they were on special. They don't have it all the time, but I have found they are responsive. Every store has a customer comment box or a comment binder where you can leave messages about what you would like.

As for not buying food at Costco until they "change their ways"--that isn't likely to produce results, as there are plenty of other people who will continue to buy what they do stock now. A tactic more likely to produce more healthy choices at Costco would be utilizing the comment system I mentioned to communicate the changes or additions you are seeking.

I actually was at Costco tonight, and those darned rotisserie chickens smell so good, it was all I could do to make it home without stopping to cut into it right there in the car!!!:embarassed: :laugh: :laugh:

Thanks for tip on comment box. I will keep this in mind. I find this works very well at regular grocery stores for sure. If enough people request items, they will give it a try. If it does not do well they will not restock it.

IsMollyReallyHungry

I see quite of few peoples mentioned egg beaters. I love egg beaters so I will make sure to seek out. I bet they were in the egg milk section and it was so cold in there I did not stay long! I am a new member and I was surprised with the reasonable organic items. I have been trying to eat more organic foods and I can defintely afford some of their organic products and produce. I did keep in mind that I will have to eat the fruit I brought every single day for it not to spoil.....:-)

So I made sure I brought items I love. I am going to try the grapefruit tonight and start on the honey crisp apples tomorrow.

Azdak

Just an update: My Costco now has the big tubs of Fage Greek yogurt -- 0% plain, just what I wanted. 1 kilo for less than $6.

Now I mix it up with a cup of mixed berries (frozen ones), and 1 serving of Kashi Go Lean Crunch cereal. Less than 400 calories, 30g of protein, and pretty yummy as well.

I have to admit, however, that it's extra work. There are days when I think it might be better to just grab the Choblani cup out of the fridge and throw it in the lunch bag rather than take time to make up the "home made" version.

Still, I have to give kudos for Costco. You have to understand what they are and how they do business. They are not set up to carry every product out there, or to carry a comprehensive selection of gourmet "health" items. They are not whole foods (thank jah).

But they do offer a good solid selection of healthy basics, at reasonable price points. Quite frankly, a lot of the healthier foods I eat I could not afford if I had to buy therm at a regular grocery store.

Here is what I get at Costco:

Romaine lettuce: 3.60 for 6 heads--about 1/2 the price of the grocery store
Organic balsamic vinegar dressing
93% Lean ground beef (they have organic beef and chicken as well, I just can't afford it)
Sockeye or freshwater salmon (not farm raised) -- about $9 per pound
Organic brown rice--about $1.10 /lb
Fage 0% plain Greek yogurt--5.80 for 1 kg
Choblani 6 oz Greek yogurt cups w/fruit--about $0.98 ea compared to $1.75 at the grocery store
Quinoa
Lite Jarlsburg Swiss Cheese (50 cal/slice)
Organic, free range, omega-3 eggs --$4 for 1.5 dozen
Smart Balance margarine
Arnolds Sandwich Thins --$5.70 for 18
Flatouts--same price as Arnolds
Great produce (although I don't buy much of it because the quantities are too large and it goes bad)
Fat-free organic chicken broth -- 1/2 the price of the same product at the grocery store
Canned tomatoes, beans, also spices and condiments.
EAS protein bars--low sugar, 20g protein for 200 cals--about $1 each.
Whole wheat pasta
Frozen edamane
Egg beaters

That's just a sample. Practically every "healthy" food item I eat comes from Costco--again, without Costco, I could not afford to eat as healthy as I do now. That's just a fact.