The cheapest groceries aren’t at a grocery store

Grocery prices have reached the stratosphere and we’re all scrambling to lower our food bills. Enter Consumer Reports which recently looked at where the cheapest groceries can be found.

My advice to lower your food bill — wherever you shop, plan weekly trips, search out deals and then plan your meals accordingly. I save between 30-50% on weekly trips, as this receipt shows.

Surprise, the winner wasn’t a traditional supermarket or even Walmart, it was Costco.

“Only six chains nationwide had lower prices than Walmart, and the cheapest grocery store in America was none other than Costco. According to the study, groceries at Costco cost, on average, 21.4% less than at Walmart,” reports Delish in analyzing the Consumer Reports study.

But before you run to Costco, keep in mind there are some downsides to shopping there. You have to buy a membership, to start. Costco also doesn’t stock as many grocery products as traditional stores. And you likely have to buy in large quantities, more than a small family might need.

But you could join with neighbors, splitting the $65 membership fee and dividing up what you purchase.

BJ’s Wholesale came in second, another warehouse concept store.

My advice for getting lower prices — shop sales, use coupons and plan your weekly trip, and your weekly menu to maximize your purchasing power. I rarely pay full-price for any grocery item.

My goal each week — to save at least 33 – 40% off full price for my weekly shopping list.

Pandemic Food Casualties: Costco sheet cake, McDonald’s salads, yogurt parfaits

The Covid-19 pandemic has caused a lot of food purveyors, whether retailers or restaurants, to cut back menus and just concentrate on their top sellers, or, for restaurants, on items that are quick to prepare. So several of my favorites have fallen by the wayside.

The most painful loss is that McDonald’s has cut what I considered the two healthiest items on its menu — salads and yogurt parfaits. I was a regular at a local McDonald’s before the pandemic, ordering a salad, side salad and two parfaits. The staff came to know me by my order, which I usually placed ahead of time through the McDonald’s ordering app.

What had been my weekly Costco lunch is no more. Who dumps chocolate from the vanilla-chocolate combo? Shame on you Costco.
Those were the days my friend — gone now. No frozen yogurt at Costco, no salads at McDonald’s.

With those options gone now, there’s no reason for me to stop at McDonald’s, even if it has reopened for eat-in service.

On the other end of the food scale — totally unhealthy but delicious, Costco has stopped selling its giant sheet cakes. Those were a mainstay when we had large parties, there was inevitably enough to freeze for ourselves to have on later occasions as well.

Costco already broke my heart when it dropped its fat-free chocolate frozen yogurt for the trendy acai. I used to eat lunch there once a week, getting a salad (bringing my own oil and vinegar to avoid it’s fatty dressing) and a yogurt swirl. I had shifted to McDonald’s salads after that. Now with both gone, there’s I am confined to eating lunch at home.

By the way, Costco also has dropped acai from its food court! Ha!!!!

More food items to avoid at Costco

Anyone who knows me or who has read my blog, knows of my displeasure with Costco for dropping chocolate frozen yogurt from its food courts and replacing it with trendy frozen acai.

That change disrupted my life for months and has turned me from a Costco lover to a Costco hater. I no longer go every week and now spend as little time and money as possible when I’m there. I also downgraded my membership from Executive to regular.

What had been my weekly Costco lunch is no more. Who dumps chocolate from the vanilla-chocolate combo? Shame on you Costco.
What had been my weekly Costco lunch is no more. Who dumps chocolate from the vanilla-chocolate combo? Shame on you Costco.

So I’m up for any Costco bashing I see, which is why this recent Cooking Light post, 6 Things You Should NEVER Buy at Costco, According to Superfans. Continue reading “More food items to avoid at Costco”

More on eating healthy and smart shopping at Costco

One of the most popular posts on this blog is a piece I wrote about how to make a Costco food court salad healthier by not using the dressing and eliminating even more salt by taking off the cheese as well. I’ve also written about how to shop smarter at warehouse club stores like Costco.

Smart shopping means buying items low in fat, salt and sugar. Know how to fill your shopping cart while avoiding this evil trio of additives.
Smart shopping means buying items low in fat, salt and sugar. Know how to fill your shopping cart while avoiding this evil trio of additives.

So I enjoyed coming across this story recently headlined Get the Skinny: The ‘Costco Diet.’  the piece really isn’t about a diet plan, as the headline might suggest. Rather, it lists products available at Costco that are relatively healthy, such as fresh produce and salmon, which I regularly buy there. Continue reading “More on eating healthy and smart shopping at Costco”

Sabra has a new low-salt pineapple salsa

The Sabra brand is known mainly for its hummus. It was always a favorite of my vegetarian daughter when she was home from school and likely still is if she can find it in her new home of Portland, Ore.

Sabra pineapple salsa
Sabra pineapple salsa

We buy it ourselves at Costco for parties. But in recent days, Costco also has been carrying a Sabra pineapple salsa. Salsa is normally high in salt, although there are low-salt varieties out there which I’ve written about. When I checked the new Sabra pineapple salsa, I was pleasantly surprised to see it is relatively low-salt. Continue reading “Sabra has a new low-salt pineapple salsa”

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