Hi friends! Today I’m sharing my updated list of healthy Costco items for 2023! I’ve also updated the printable PDF grocery shopping list for those of you on my email list!
There are healthy things there that we don’t buy because we don’t need that much or whatever, so this list is NOT extensive of ALL healthy things at Costco. Also, you’ll find notes below about what I buy vs. other options I think are good options too. These notes are not on the PDF but are below. Lastly, I added a new section this year, what not to buy! There are a couple of things I see people reaching for every time I’m at Costco that give me the cringes, I know I’ll get hate for this list, but I included it anyways!
Listen, what you buy has to be a balance between health needs and desires vs. budget. As we will have a third kid this year, I will make compromises on items I didn’t make when we didn’t have kids. Ultimately my goal is to shop for the cleanest items, the best overall health effects, and the least amount of toxin exposure (pesticides, food additives, colors, chemicals, etc.) I specialize in autoimmunity as well as hormone issues. I’ve seen the huge effect cumulative toxin load can contribute to. But health is a journey. At 22, I didn’t care what was in plastic and what wasn’t. I was on a grad student budget. As I became more aware and as I could afford it, I made gradual shifts to decrease plastic use, etc.
With the exception of these 25 healthy snacks from Costco!
UPDATE: Scroll to the end to see a video of me unloading one of my Costco hauls!
I hope this list gives you ideas! Keep in mind every Costco is different (even within the same state), so depending on your location, you may have different items available!
Not a Costco member yet? Hungry Hobby readers get a $20 shop card when they join! Click here! (affiliate link)
Cold Cases
Dairy and Eggs
- Kirkland Organic Eggs
- Kirkland Plain Cottage Cheese
- Kirkland Plain Greek Yogurt
- Kerrygold Butter or Kirland 95% Grassfed
- Kerrygold is estimated to be about 85-95% grass-fed.
- Chobani Low Sugar
- Chobani Zero Sugar
- sweetened with allulose, a newer natural low-calorie sweetener. Limited human studies are promising, but since my kids consume it, I prefer to stick to Chobani Low Sugar instead.
- Organic String Cheese
- my kids are obsessed.
- Stonyfield Yogurt Tubes
- Organic Half and Half
- Milk
- I don’t buy milk at Costco because my kids aren’t huge milk drinkers, so I can still afford 100% grass-fed milk. They also don’t have organic milk at Costco. But some people may really like that they have A2 milk there or just plain old affordable milk. Milk is a great source of nutrients if you can tolerate it. Nutritionally best case is 100% grass-fed milk, then organic, then conventional.
Other Cold Items
- Oasis Hummus (3-packs)
- Nitrate-free chicken sausages – usually chicken apple, paleo black pepper, or Sabatino’s mozzarella
- Hillshire Farm Nitrate Free Deli Turkey
- Maple Leaf Uncured Canadian Bacon
- Colombus Uncured Turkey Bacon
- Three Bridges Egg Bites
- Kevin’s Brand anything
- I noticed they’ve been carrying a few of Kevin’s products recently and I love to see that as they are DELICIOUS with really clean ingredients. I was first exposed to the in my Hungryroot boxes.
- Shrimp cocktail
- Teton Water hog dogs
- Teton Water jalapeno cheddar brats
- Amyulu breakfast sausage
- Aidells chicken sausage (not the bacon and pineapple because the bacon is not uncured)
- Sabatino’s chicken sausages and meatballs – all varieties (not pictured)
- Kirkland Cheese Blocks (any kind!)
- Gourmet Cheeses
- Street Tacos
- Item isn’t perfect, but it’s my go-to healthy meal to pick up from their pre-prepared item section.
*I don’t get bacon (or most of my meat) at our Costco because I get it from Butcher Box. The bacon at our Costco is not uncured, but in some places, it is. If ours was, I would get it at Costco.
Produce
You can’t go wrong with fresh produce of any kind! I tend to purchase items where the skin will be peeled, like bananas, avocados, oranges, etc as conventional. Other things I may purchase organic as my budget allows.
- All Salad Kits
- Sometimes use my own dressing, sometimes not.
- Large Container Spinach
- Cherry Tomatoes
- Organic Berries
- Mini Sweet Peppers
- Big bags of broccoli or whatever we feel like eating in bulk that week
- Baby carrots
- although they are organic and I don’t typically purchase organic carrots
- Wildborne Sauerkraut
- Bananas
- Apples
- Avocados
Freezer
We purchase most of our meat and bacon from ButcherBox, an online meat delivery service, but we get a ton of seafood from Costco. (For a comparison of organic Costco meat vs. Butcher Box, see my updated Butcher Box review.)
Kirkland Farmed Alaskan Salmon(I now buy my salmon from Sprouts, it’s still farmed but from Norway where salmon farming has better healthier practices.)- Kirkland Wild Caught Sockeye Salmon
- I don’t like sockeye salmon, but if you do, this wild-caught option is great!
- Kirkland Wild Caught Pacific Cod
- Kirkland Wild Caught Mahi Mahi
- Trident Pollock Burgers
- Trident Salmon Burgers
- Kirkland 2LB Bag of Raw Shrimp
- Columbus Seasoned Turkey Burgers
- 100% Grassfed Kirkland Burgers
- Frozen fruit for smoothies
- Cauliflower crust pizzas
- Frozen Green Beans
- love making these in the air fryer
- Frozen Stir Fry Veggies
- Frozen Root Vegetable Blend
- the baby LOVES these and they are steam in the bag, but I haven’t seen them in a while!
- Frozen Asparagus (steam in the bag)
- FYI I used to use steam in the bag all the time, but now, I only use steam in bags under emergencies due to plastic exposure. Cooking food in plastic is a leading cause of chemicals such as BPA and phthalates in the food. These are known endocrine disruptors contributing to gut inflammation, hormone imbalance, infertility, and autoimmune conditions.
- Frozen Brussel Sprouts (steam in the bag)
- FYI I used to use steam in the bag all the time, but now, I only use steam in bags under emergencies due to plastic exposure. Cooking food in plastic is a leading cause of chemicals such as BPA and phthalates in the food. These are known endocrine disruptors contributing to gut inflammation, hormone imbalance, infertility, and autoimmune conditions.
- Siete Almond Flour Tortillas
- Evol Egg Burritos
- high carb, but pretty clean ingredients! I typically buy them postpartum and during pregnancy!
Pantry Items
- Quaker Oats & Coaches Oats
- Note: I typically buy from Thrive Market because I prefer organic. I don’t think organic is best for all things, but for wheat and oat products, I think it’s worth it. Organic oats and wheat have high glycinate (round-up pesticide) exposure which can not be washed off.
- Kirkland Almond Flour
- Kirkland & Kinder Seasonings (garlic salt, cinnamon, and steak seasonings plus other random ones)
- Kirkland Coconut |Kirkland Olive| Chosen Foods Avocado Oil
- Note: Again, I typically buy from Thrive Market since all of their bottles are plastic. Oils, more so than other foods, kept in plastic bottles have higher levels of plastic chemicals such as BPA in them. I avoid these as they are known endocrine disrupters.
- Vanilla extract
- Lotus Foods Brown Rice Ramen
- Kirkland or Seeds of Change Pre-cooked Brown Rice/Quinoa Packs
- Banza Chickpea Pasta (occasional item, when I see it I buy it)
- Kirkland or Nutiva Hempseeds, chia seeds, and flaxseeds
- Coffee Pods
- whatever is on sale and organic or Kirkland Strong Organic
- Laird Superfood Creamer
- I don’t love this, but many people do, and it has super clean ingredients!
- Kirkland Albacore Tuna or Wild Planet Tuna
- The wild planet is the best option as it retains natural oils with high levels of omega 3’s.
- Mandra’s Lentils (not recently, but in the past)
- Kirkland Vanilla Almond Milk
- the 10-pack is fortified – the other original version is not fortified with calcium.
- Kirkland Almonds, Cashews, Pistachios, etc.
- Kirkland Maple Syrup
- Honey
- the ones that come in bears because they are the least messy. I don’t buy raw honey because I prefer not to take the risk of botulism. 🙂
- Kirkland Almond Butter
- Kirkland Organic peanut butter
- I buy the organic because it’s just peanuts and salt, not because it’s organic.
- Stonewall Kitchen Jam or Organic Strawberry Jam
- lowest sugar, least processed options
- Paleo pancake mix (on occasion)
- Granola/Cereal:
- Nutrail Keto Nut Granola (lowest sugar – 2g per 1/4 cup but sweetened with Erythritol. Sugar alcohols may bother some people’s stomachs, and I wouldn’t serve it to kids. My in-laws said it’s delicious though!)
- Autumn Gold Grain Free Granola (6g sugar per 1/4 cup)
- Natures Path Pumpkin Seed and Flax (about 3g per 1/4 cup)
- Chosen Foods Avocado Mayo
- Coconut Aminos
- Kirkland Organic Chicken Broth
- Kirkland Organic Chicken Stock
- Rao’s Tomato Sauce
- Dried Fruit
- Any dried fruit is great as long as the only ingredient is the fruit itself!
- Jarred Marinated Artichokes
- Jarred Pickles
- Jarred Olives
- Jarred Peaches
- Jarred Salsa
- I stick with glass jars to reduce plastic exposure as tomato products are high acidity and, like oil, are known to leech chemicals out of plastic containers.
- Kinders BBQ and Terriyaki
- Kinders products tend to have lower sugar and clean ingredients!
Snacks
- Simple Mills Almond Flour Crackers
- Caveman Bars
- RW Garcia Crackers
- Terra Vegetable Root Chips
- Nearly Naked Popcorn
- KIND Bars – 5g Sugar
- Salt and Vinegar Pistachios (Wonderful Brand)
- Garlic, Herb, and Olive Oil Almonds
- Kirkland Variety Snacking Nuts
- Nature’s Garden Organic Snack Mix
Kids Snacks
- Fig Bars, Bobos, Z Bars Cliff
- These bars have similar amounts of sugar in them, and admittedly they are all kind of high. 9-12 grams per serving. Bobos being the worst offender, then Z bars Cliff, and then Fig Bars. We buy fig bars.
- Applesauce
- Snap Peas
- Pure Bars – Organic Layered Fruit Bars
- I recently gave into these bars after my kids loved them so much when we had them. I think they are a much better alternative to fruit snacks, but watch the choking hazard as they are small, round, and rubbery.
Protein Shakes/Bars:
- PBFit
- Orgain Protein Shakes
- both powder and pre-made shakes – both vegan and whey
- Core Power Protein Shakes
- Kirkland Protein Bars
- the quest knockoffs – haven’t bought these recently since I like RX bars better
- RX Bars
- Vital Proteins Collagen
- Marine and Beef Varieties
Drinks:
- La Croix
- Spindrift when they have it
- Kirkland Water bottles
- Suja Might Dozen Green Juice
- Pomegranate Juice
- Kirkland Brand
- POM Wonderful
Other:
- Kirkland Calcium chews
- Huggies or Kirkland Diapers
- Dog Dental Chews
- we get the dentistix because you can break them half so then you get double
- Dog Food
- just switched from a grain-free to the other one at our vet’s advice
- Cat Litter
- whatever is on sale
- Sensodyne
- Chlorine Tabs (1-2x per year)
- Random clothes
- Mr. Hungry likes to get basketball shorts there. Also, baby/kid clothes.
- Reynolds Heavy-Duty Aluminum Foil
- Kirkland Parchment Paper
- Kirkland Wax Paper
- random Paper plates and utensils (for the holidays)
- Kirkland Paper Towels
- Kirkland Bath Tissue
- Kirkland Napkins
- Kirkland Trash Bags
- Batteries
- Cleaning items galore
- Cascade dishwasher pods
- hand soap
- Kirkland laundry soap (the white container, dye-free one)
- swifter pads (dry and wet)
- Kirkland dryer sheets
- Clorox wipes (whatever is on sale, Kirkland brand vs. name brand don’t care)
- a million other things I’m probably forgetting
- Sponges
One Time Purchases
Over the years, we’ve bought:
- Food Processors
- Air Fryer
- Vitamix
- Nutribullet
- this item is great for beginners!
- motion sensor trash can
- Keurig
- printer and printer ink
- bright white printer paper
- G2 Pilot pens
- TV
- Eyeglasses
- Dog bed
- 1800 Tequila and Kirkland tequila
- wine
- other alcohol (but we aren’t big drinkers, so it takes us five years to get through it)
…and I’m sure other things I’m forgetting! I’d love to know what you buy! Did I miss something that is a staple for you?
NEW Section: Don’t Be Fooled
- Keto Bread
- Ingredients: potato starch, vital wheat gluten – sooner or later this stuff will wreck your gut.
- Stevia Blend Packets
- can you believe the first ingredient on these is sugar? I was floored.
- Heavenly hunks
- Dried fruit with anything other than the fruit as the ingredient.
- Fruit Snacks
- Buy your kids fruit or buy them candy. But fruit snacks are candy disguised as fruit. Absolutely no nutrient retention in fruit snacks. My kids go to preschool and eat these, so that’s fine, but I don’t need Costco amounts in my house.
- Rotisserie Chicken
- I know I might get a lot of hate for this one, but there are a lot of ingredients (preservatives/chemicals) that just don’t need to be there. I’d rather swing by Sprouts.
Healthy Costco Groceries Haul Video
I shared the following video on IGTV (come join me on Insta! @hungryhobbyRD), all relevant links about items or recipes I mentioned in the video are below the video!
Healthy Costco Groceries Reel
Not a Costco member yet? Hungry Hobby readers get a $20 shop card when they join! Click here! (affiliate link)
Relevant links:
- Collagen Facts & Why We Use It
- SmoothieBox Review
- Daily Harvest Review
- Starbucks Feta Wraps Recipe
- Paleo Taco Salad Recipe
- Meal Prep Monday (I recorded my meal prep 3 days after this haul, so you can see what we actually ate with these groceries!)
- For those of you who want to know, I got my shirt from StitchFix!
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A Dietitian’s Guide To Shopping Healthy At Trader Joe’s
