The Dish: After reading this post you may be saying to yourself, "Huh?" And I probably would have thought the same thing about a year ago, but hear me out. Getting a Costco membership is a great way to save money while stocking up on your basic staples. Luckily, I was gifted a membership last Christmas, which saved me $50, but I plan on renewing next year. Here are some vegan treasures that Costco has to offer.
1) Canned Goods. I understand that a lot of vegans prefer to cook their own beans, and use only fresh ingredients. I totally support this, and would do the same if I had the time, but at this point in my life, canned goods is where it's at! On my recent trip to Costco, I bought a big package of kidney beans, which included about 10 or so cans for a very reasonable price. I also picked up diced tomatoes and coconut milk, and now my pantry will be stocked with these items for at least the next several months. You can also find bulk packages of vegan soup from Amy's Kitchen—the package I bought included lentil and vegetable barley soups.
2) Nuts and Nut Butters. You will most likely find a better selection of nuts in the bulk section of your local grocery store, but I guarantee that the selection is not half bad. This is especially true when it comes to the more basic items, such as almonds. My parents bought me a huge bag of raw almonds from Costco last year, and I still haven't finished the package—they are nestled away in my freezer. You can also find a good selection of nut butters, including almond and peanut butter from varying brands. And I want to mention again that these butters come in huge containers—you'll be set for months!
3) Spices. As we all know, spices are really expensive, and I was pleasantly surprised when I saw the prices for the bulk spices at Costco. I nearly bought them all, but I restrained myself and bought two of the ones I use a lot, including chili powder and white pepper. Needless, to say, I won't need to purchase these spices again for about a year or so.
4) Miscellaneous. If any of you have ever stepped foot in a Costco, you'll understand that this list could go on for quite a while, so I'll stick to the ones I recently found at my local Costco. For wine lovers, there are big bottles of Yellow Tail wine, whose red wines are vegan. For snackers, there are big variety boxes of Clif Bars and big bags of trail mixes. I also purchased maple syrup, soy sauce, and soymilk—all in super-big quantities!
The Final Word: One thing to understand. When you shop at Costco, you will most likely be spending $100 to $200 on any given trip, but that is a full (and heavy) cart of goods that will last you several months, if not more. This type of shopping may not be for everyone, but it has worked very well for me so far. As a member, you also receive a book of coupons each month which will offer you even more savings. I would suggest trying it out for a year, if you are able to, and see for yourself! Costco is definitely a unique shopping experience.
I cannot find a lot at Cotsco. I usually end up buying cat litter...
ReplyDeleteI buy appliances there, nuts and spices.
ReplyDeleteAlso great for party shopping...usually have a good selection of produce, sometimes organic!
ReplyDeleteAlso can find organic soymilk and nutbutters there. At my costco at least!
Some Costcos have Amy's in bulk but my local one does not :o( A semi local Costco use to sell bulk vegan tamales (I don't remember the brand.) They were so good, but they don't have them anymore :o(.
ReplyDeleteEither way you can find some great stuff at Costco and if you are lucky to have a really good Costco you can find some really good vegan products.
I also get quinoa and farro there (they were tasting it mixed with sundried tomatoes in oil, the only two ingredients, heaven!), and they just added unsweetened Almond Breeze almond milk in vanilla flavor...whoo hoo! I buy cans of chickpeas to make my own hummus. Also bulk flaxmeal, and Kashi cereal. Good stuff, all! - Monique
ReplyDeleteWe are a vegan family of four living in the boonies and Costco is a big help financially. Somethings not mentioned are the Organic shade grown, fair trade coffee, organic olive oil, fresh veggies, organic brown basmati rice, Killer Dave's vegan bread, organic apple juice pressed from our local Washington state apples and 5 pound bags of frozen organic veggies that we use to make our own vegan dog food...I could go on! A good thing for whole food and raw food folk is the great discounts and extended warranties on the Vita-Mix and K-Tec. My K-Tec was $100 cheaper and has an additional 4 years on the warranty. They also carry the less expensive Magic Bullet blender. The best part is being in line with my beautiful teenaged daughters and having folks ask them where they got all that 'healthy food'. -Kelly
ReplyDeleteEvery once in a while I would come across some Gardein product or the like in the freezer section at the Costco near me, only to never see it again. Ok for stocking up on some basics, but definitely not a one-stop shop.
ReplyDeleteyou guys are lucky, costco Australia has nothing organic except a bag of chips!
ReplyDeleteI've bought agave nectar at costco, and fresh organic veggies (carrots and salad greens). Otherwise, we don't buy much there either.
ReplyDeleteI personally shop at BJs (but theyre pretty much te same thing) ANd i get fresh produce there and something they got plenty of those Morningstar vegan patties or chik nuggets and other Amy's Kitchen Burritos and such. And like VegNews Magazine poster poiunted out - I sometimes don't have the time to cook so just pop in one of Amy's Burritos and enjoy lol
ReplyDeletetheir vanilla extract is a pretty great price, but i just can't justify the $50 membership fee to go shopping a few times a year. i have learned to go without. eventually i'm going to tag along with grandpa to stock up again. but i still have enough to last a while, and we hadn't had our membership for 2 years now.
ReplyDeletethe spaghetti sauce isn't a great price, neither is the TP. if you learn the sale cycles at the regular grocery stores and combine them with coupons, you can do some pretty great damage.
p.s. i've tried BJs, and it's nothing like costco, but still, the membership eats up any savings i would have had.
A little self promotion here if nobody minds. If you want to see some "interesting", and also raw organic vegan nut butters, please check out my site. I'll be offering smaller (and less expensive), sample sizes very soon. Thanks for looking!
ReplyDeletehttp://ethicalbounty.com
I am a vegan and I love Costco. Like the author of this post, I purchased in bulk: soy sauce, spices, canned beans, Amy's soups, a HUGE bag of brown rice and Quinoa that will last me until rapture, nuts, a 13.5 lb bag of Baking Soda that I use for just about everthing: cleaning, litterbox odor control and even in my bath water, white vinegar (again for cleaning) and my list goes on... Joining is definitely worth it.
ReplyDeleteIMHO BJs trumps costco. They offer a wide variety of organic products and they take manufacturer coupons. Here's their list of current products: http://www.facebook.com/notes/bjs-wholesale-club/bjs-organic-and-natural-selections/10150370567070540
ReplyDelete