Month: January 2017

5 on Friday: Costco

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We buy a lot at Costco, so 5 items barely scratches the surface of the great things you can buy there. There are some things I immediately took out of the list, because formula and diapers aren’t something that most people are looking to try from Costco.  I haven’t included the black bean burgers we can’t get enough of, the cheap beer, the agave syrup, the maple syrup (we are a syrup loving family), or even the V8 we buy by the case.

This list is 5 great things at Costco that we buy at least monthly that I wanted to share with you. Maybe you buy them too.

Eggo Waffles. We have big breakfasts every day. Often Audrey naps trough lunch and only has two meals. Mornings for her start with fruit, eggs, and a peanut butter waffle. John will eat them with butter and syrup. Elliot likes anything on them. I have been known to use them for the bread in egg in the hole when we are out of bread. Are they great? No. Are they good? Yeah. Do I like not having to buy boxes of waffles at the store every week? Yes.

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Half and Half. We have a 2 year old and a 9 month old. We drink a lot of coffee.

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Tillamook Cheese. This is our house cheddar. We use it in eggs at breakfast, on sandwiches at lunch, and in casseroles at dinner. We will eat it as a snack too. It’s good cheese. Good enough to buy by the brick. dsc_0037

Berries (you know what they look like): Costco has good berries at a decent price year round. We buy them every trip. I often lie to Audrey and tell her we are out of raspberries because I want to eat them.

Toilet Paper. We buy Kirkland toilet paper. It’s fine. I think it is no better and no worse than average toilet paper. It’s cheap, I’m cheap, it works. I should clarify that the other items on this list we buy at least monthly, but toilet paper is more of a once every six months or a year item.

What do you buy at Costco? Are there any gems that I’m missing?

Every Friday I share 5 things I think you should know about. Are there any 5 on Friday topics you would like to hear about? Comment to share your ideas.

5 on Friday: Baby Finger Foods from Trader Joe’s

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Welcome to 5 on Friday. Today isn’t the happiest of days for me. I’m sad and tired and want to focus on my kids because it cheers me up. So that is what we’re doing today.

Mr. Elliot is now nine months old. That means we’re moving away from baby food and on to table food. Thank God, because feeding a baby tiny spoonfuls of food is the most excruciatingly boring part of parenthood. I thought it was bad with Audrey, and it has turned out to be that way with Elliot too.

How does Elliot feel about table food? He’s a big fan. He really likes waving now, so it is getting hard to get a picture of him without his hand in the way.

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Moving to table food means that he’s now eating what we’re eating as long as it isn’t honey or a choking hazard. We just started doing mostly table food this week, so I’m keeping the textures soft as we get started.

Last week I headed to Trader Joe’s to pick up a few things that we love to eat that we wanted Elliot to try. You can get these items at any store, but they are super cheap at Trader Joe’s, which is very important to a budget conscious SAHM.

Avocados

Audrey and I eat a lot of avocados. We like avocado toast. We like avocado on our eggs. We like avocado slices. Bubba from Forest Gump is to shrimp what we are to avocados. Luckily Elliot appears to be just as much of a fan as we are.dsc_0030

Full Fat Yogurt

I could spend $6 on baby yogurt or $3 on Trader Joe’s yogurt.  This yogurt is delicious. Audrey and I have it with breakfast a lot, and Elliot appears to like it even more than us. The cups might be a little bigger than baby yogurt cups, but Elliot doesn’t have an issue finishing one. The vanilla also doubles as “dip” in our house for waffles. Audrey is 43% more likely to try something if there is dip involved.dsc_0032Bananas

$.19 a banana. You can’t beat that. dsc_0045-copy

Sweet Potato Gnocchi

It’s soft. It’s delicious. Both of my kids would like it for every meal. I have the following conversation 6 days a week. I would have it 7, but John gets up with her one day of the weekend.

Me: “What do you want for breakfast, Audrey?”

Audrey: “Gnocchi”

Me: “It’s breakfast, we aren’t having gnocchi.”

I gave Elliot gnocchi earlier this week and he gobbled it right up. I’m sure I’ll be having the same conversation with him before I know it. dsc_0281

Cereal Bars

These are not a food that we eat every day. These are special diaper bag treats for when I have tired, cranky, hungry kids and I need them to stay happy for 5 minutes. I’ll pull these out if we are at a restaurant and it is taking a long time or we are running late for dinner and still have to drive home and they need a snack. dsc_0029

Next week I’ll post about something other than Trader Joe’s. Probably. No promises.

5 on Friday: Trader Joe’s

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Welcome back! I hope you had a wonderful Christmas and a fine New Year’s Eve. We had a great Christmas – there is nothing like having a 2 year old on Christmas morning. After Christmas every one of us got sick, so there was a slightly longer break than planned in the 5 on Friday series. We’re on the mend, and I can get back to telling you about one of my favorite grocery stores – Trader Joe’s.

I go to TJ’s about once a month (when Aunt Kathy watches the kids for my big errand day), but I squeeze in a bonus visit when we are running low on staples. Especially when we are out of the number one thing I get at Trader Joe’s:

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We go though A LOT of sweet potato gnocchi. I usually buy six packages. It is supposed to feed 3 adults, but it feeds one adult and one toddler in our house. We rarely have leftovers, and it is not because I am the one eating a bunch of it. Audrey LOVES it.

She asks for gnocchi, and hearing a two year old say gnocchi is only one of the reasons I love it. I like that I can pull it from the freezer and have lunch on the table 7 minutes later (with two little kids speed is of the essence more often than not). I love that the first ingredient is a vegetable. Audrey hates eating vegetables, so any time I can get her to eat a vegetable I consider it a win. dsc_0312

Unexpected Cheddar

I wish I could afford to have Montgomery Cheddar on hand at all times, but I can’t. I can, however, always have Unexpected Cheddar on hand. It’s shockingly good for the price, complete with those crunchy cheese crystal things that make you want to do a happy dance. I like it plain, on crackers, or mixed in with my scrambled eggs.

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Pub Cheese Cheddar with Horseradish and Golden Rounds Crackers

This cheese spread doesn’t taste enough like horseradish in my opinion, so if you aren’t a horseradish fan don’t let the name fool you. The cheese is excellent spread on fake these fake Ritz crackers.

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Bananas

They have really cheap bananas, and I have a toddler. It’s a match made in heaven. Unlike Costco and Aldi, where you buy bananas in huge bags, you get to pick your bananas out. I’ve been burned with bad banana bunches in bags before, so Trader Joe’s is my banana spot.

Spicy California Roll Sushi

Is the sushi great? No. It’s fine. It’s the kind of sushi that is best described as “won’t give you food poisoning.” That being said, John and I used to go out for sushi every week. Now that I stay home we can’t afford that, so sushi is a treat. At about $4 for a pack of spicy California roll it is affordable on my budget, so it is my lunch after every Trader Joe’s trip. There would be a picture, but I always eat it before I remember to take a picture, so you just need to imagine it.

What do you like to buy at Trader Joe’s? Did I miss any of your favorites?

Every Friday (OK, most Fridays) I share 5 things I think you should know about. What would you like to hear more about?