Having fun at Costco

I normally don’t like grocery shopping. It’s a chore and it’s annoying and tiring. I have now found that I love going to Costco. For my international friends, Costco is a large warehouse club. Everything is sold in BIG quantities; you can’t just go in and buy a 1 ounce bag of M & M’s or anything. You’d have to buy a 40 ounce bag, to give you an example.

Why I love going to Costco:

* We pass LLBean on the way. LL Bean is my favorite store since I love the outdoors. Of course, I’d love to stop and shop at LLBean, but food shopping awaits.

* The big, I mean BIG TV screens that greet you. I swear these screens are the size of a movie theater screen. It would be scary to  watch my exercise DVDs on  such a large screen. The instructors would really be right there. Seeing a large picture of Shaun T. wouldn’t be so bad though.

* When my husband is done gawking at the big TVs, he disappears. I’ve learned that he quickly goes to the free sample tables. A word to  the wise – if you love free food, the best samples are given out near the snack foods. At least according to my husband. Can we say  potato chips? Popcorn? Cookies? Funny thing though, Ken flies right by the free samples of yogurt and fruit.

* The great prices. Of course, we just ‘have’ to get that 32 ounce bag of Cape Cod potato chips because they are so cheap. Plus they’re low fat. I admit I eat potato chips right from the bag. Having such a big bag almost forces you to eat more. Oh well.   They are 40% lower in fat, so it can’t be that bad. . .

* Great product finds! I am so excited that Costco now carries chia seeds. I used to scour the Internet for the cheapest price. Of course, the 32 ounce bag will probably last me a year.

* More great product finds! Organic low fat burritos. Yum.

* Future great product finds! Agave syrup, which is another favorite of mine. I had stocked up on this when Whole Foods had a sale,  but now I know where I’ll be getting more.

My only complaint with Costco is that they don’t carry Peeps. I was really hoping to stock up. I would not suffer Peep withdrawal if I could buy a huge box of Peeps. Now that would be pure bliss!

Just after my husband and I were married, we made a trip to Costco. We were saving up to buy a house, so every penny counted. After we finished shopping, we went through the receipt and figured out how much money we had saved. It was a lot. Both Ken and I were equally excited. I knew then that I had found my soul mate. 🙂

So what about you? Do you have fun at the grocery store?

Since I couldn’t figure out how to size the pictures to fit in with the text, they’re shown below. Just so you can see what food I’m talking about.