What do you buy at Costco?

Parent Cafe
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<p>justhismom, I did not realize Costco could fill the insulin & needles for our cat. You just bring in his prescriptions? I compared 1-800-petmeds (is that the right one?- the one that Betty White is always pushing?) But I found our vet’s office for insulin was about the same. The needles we get at the Rite Aid, CVS, or Walgreen’s. </p>

<p>Our cat is almost 15 years old now & was diagnosed several years ago. He weighs about 20 lbs or so! To think when he was so sick & lost a lot of weight, we couldn’t figure it out, to get so skinny & eat & drink all the time. We erroneously felt he had cancer & did not even want to bring him into the vet, for fear of bad news! We were so relieved to find out that he had diabetes. And his sister is still very healthy, she has always been the trim kitty, and the mouser! Big animal lovers here.</p>

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<p>SLUMOM, in WA insulin and needles are sold without prescriptions. I just asked for them at my Costco pharmacy. I gave my cat insulin shots for almost 4 years, and she was the most amazing feline being on Earth who never complained about getting her shots. Your cat will regain her weight with insulin shots, but she might still drag her hind legs due to muscle deterioration. It was not a problem for our kitty; she seemed to hobble around really well and could get into her litterbox until the day she died…</p>

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<p>You can’t go wrong with a Costco membership. If you are disastified at any time, they will gladly return your membership fee.</p>

<p>I have been a member since about 1986, maybe earlier, and buy just about everything there. My mother says that if they sold children at Costco, I would have bought mine there…</p>

<p>By the way, they have one of the best Code of Ethics of any company in the US and take great care of their employees. If more corporations followed Costco’s example, perhaps our country would not be in the economic mess in which we are!</p>

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<p>That’s exactly the reason I shop there. Whenever I go to the Kirkland store I still see some of the employees who used to greet us at the door of that store when we became Costco members 18 years ago. They seem to be happy to work there.</p>

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<p>SLUMOM our cats could be twins…My boy has had shots for about 3 yrs now and we have finally gotten it under control…he still hovers around 20 pounds though. Our vet is ok with the weight for now, since his levels are almost normal. We have changed his diet ( and his sisters) and we can buy the food at Costco as well now.
You do not need a prescription for the needles, but you do for the insulin. My vet lets us have 6 refills at a time. After that he has to go in and have his levels re-checked before we get a new refill. I compared prices at Walmart, Target and CVS.</p>

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<p>Thanks, BunsenBurner. I shop at the Aurora Village Costco (N Seattle) and have been to the 4th Ave S store in Seattle a couple of times, too. I went to the Aurora Village store to look for the Michael Kors jacket after seeing your post in December, but no luck!</p>

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<p>Costco has two really great energy bars, one called Nu-Go and the other Trio. Nu-Go bars taste more like candy (with protein), and my teenagers love them. Trio is very unique and I thought I would hate it. It has 3 dried fruits, 3 nuts, and 3 seeds in every bar, with a very light, sweet coating. The total sugar is low, and it is so healthy. But it tastes like peanut brittle! </p>

<p>I also buy enormous Kirkland two-pack shampoo and conditioner pump bottles. I don’t splurge on expensive hair products. People normally don’t see my hair, because of the red and blue hood/mask that I wear. When they do, it looks good enough for me. I love hitting the pumps in the shower. It feels so efficient. I probably save 30 seconds each day not struggling with goo in a regular bottle. Imagine how much more living I will get over the course of a lifetime.</p>

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<p>Wow, state policies probably vary, since in WA needles are sold without any prescriptions. However, to buy Sudafed, one has to present an ID! Our Costco did not carry diabetic cat food, so I bought it at my vet’s. It was expensive, and I had to keep the other cat from devouring it, so I finally gave up and went back to regular cat food supplementing it with high protein treats, like meat pieces, for the diabetic kitty. What I noticed is that when my cat’s weight went back up quickly after starting insulin, she started peeing more, like her shots stopped working. Then it hit me: duh! She almost doubled in weight, so she needed a bigger dose. The vet did not think of it either because she gained her weight back so fast! The insulin was adjusted, and everyone was happy.</p>

<p>zipyourlips, those jackets disappeared very quickly, like the other good stuff. Yet I saw a lonely pair of Ugg boots at the store on Sunday - must have been a return. Costco is notorious for creating this urgency to buy something because it may not be there when you go back in a week or two.</p>

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<p>Someone upthread mentioned the frozen pizza - my kids (and I) LOVE the Homerun Pizza - comes 2 in a pack - we buy the cheese, don’t know if there are other toppings - it’s absolutely delicious!</p>

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<p>Costco is my favorite store. I don’t like shopping much but I really like it for the following reason. Their commitment to their customer is to provide the best price in the market for the quality level of the product. So, you don’t have to comparison shop if they have the product you want. They tend to shoot for a much higher quality level than Wal-Mart. And, in our area at least, they have really upgraded to match the area.</p>

<p>With a teenage boy (now 6’4" 240 lbs) and friends, we wanted our house to be the place that he hung out with friends, which means stocking up with food, which we do. But, we have found it is terrific for our whole family.</p>

<p>Things we buy (starred items purchased on my trip this evening):</p>

<p>Organic chickens* (we like organic); New Zealand lamb
Wild Ahi Tuna, wild salmon (including Copper Creek salmon during the season)
Smoked salmon<em>, crabmeat
Vegetables (peppers</em>, romaine lettuce<em>, organic mesclun mix, vine tomatoes, cucumbers</em>, broccoli, …)
Fruit (blackberries<em>, cherries</em>, blueberries<em>, apples, fresh figs, grapes, melons, strawberries, raspberries</em>, pineapples, mangoes, …)
Cheese (fresh mozzarella, manchego<em>, rosey goat</em>, St. Andre, parmigan reggiano, Saga Blue, huntsman, etc.)
Juice*
Organic milk
Cereal (some organic)
Maple syrup
Paper goods (toilet paper<em>, napkins, paper towels)
Dishwasher detergent, rinse aid, dish soap, laundry soap
Razor blades, shaving cream
Some clothes for teenage son and sometimes for me
Athletic socks, pajamas
Books, season of West Wing on DVD
Phones for house
Toshiba and Vizio</em> LCD HDTVs
Organic olive oil and balsamic vinegar (both Kirkland brand), Dijon mustard
Wine, champagne, beer (we’re not big drinkers)
Presents for teachers (buy months in advance)
Calculators for kids
Mystic Pizza, fresh and frozen ravioli, organic (?) pesto, tomato sauce
whole wheat bread<em>, raisin bagels</em>
Kirkland rolling suitcases
Coffee beans* (Kirkland but I think purchased from Starbucks)
San Pellegrino or seltzer*
And even more</p>

<p>Over the years, it has gotten a bigger and bigger share of our purchases because they have gone upscale in products (e.g., lots of organic stuff and high quality cheeses/wines, etc.) and because we’ve learned to trust their produce (although we have lots of foodie friends and my wife doesn’t like me to tell them where we got the fabulous blackberries). The only downside is that you have to buy in quantity. We have a large basement, where lots of this stuff goes.</p>

<p>If you have a small family, things might go to waste and you have to buy judiciously. With teenagers and their friends in the house, this is typically not our issue.</p>

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<p>The Costco in our state does not sell gas.</p>

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<p>shawbridge - I LOVE to tell my friends where I get my gorgeous and delicious blackberries, peaches and raspberries for 1/2 the price of our regular grocery store, and twice the amount! I’m very proud of it.</p>

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<p>teriwtt, I am very proud as well as I love the quality and hate to pay Whole Foods prices for it. However, I have learned that it is better to let her answer those questions and see if she answers correctly or ambiguously. Some of our friends are foodies and some I guess only shop at Whole Foods or are super organic and maybe would feel politically incorrect eating our Costco food. Who knows? I think the blackberries and raspberries are probably closer to 1/3 the price of Whole Foods. 18 oz of blackberries are something like $3.99. </p>

<p>And I forgot pomegranates. They have been huge and delicious and the grapefruits are just fabulous. </p>

<p>You and I could do the “real people” Costco ads if Costco advertised. </p>

<p>Unfortunately, they don’t sell gas in Massachusetts either. Pity. They do in Connecticut and I think in NJ.</p>

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<p>Forgot to mention what I do not recommend buying at Costco: large bag of fingerling potatoes. I thought they would be “fun”, but didn’t think about the fact that there is so much more surface area to scrub and examine and fine-tune compared to a regular potato. Finally roasted them all last weekend on two large baking sheets (with olive oil, rosemary and kosher salt) and they are tasty – but way too labor-intensive!</p>

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<p>zipyourlips, I scrub those suckers just a bit, boil them until they are ready but still firm (the boiling gets whatever dirt was left after scrubbing off) , then drain, cut the big ones in half and pan-fry them in olive oil or butter (if my French friend is coming for dinner ;)) with fresh rosemary. Good stuff! IMO, it takes less time and effort than making mashed potatoes. Those are great served with some Costco-bought organic mixed greens salad (with pecans, red onions, apples and balsamic vinagrette) and cedar-plank grilled wild salmon or grilled fillet mignon (guess where those come from ;)).</p>

<p>I also like the fact that once or twice a year our Costco gives away cookbooks. The ingredients are simple and are usually found on the shelves at my local Costco.</p>

<p>I noticed that here in WA Costco sells a lot of our local produce whan it is in season. In HI, Costco stocks aloha shirts sewn in HI and lots of local delicacies. When we were traveling to Montana, we bought a couple of cowboy hats at a Costco there (made in the US). I have not had a chance to survey Costco shelves in MA, since we had a very limited time there.</p>

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Mom3togo has shopped at Costco, Sams, and I’m spacing the 3rd warehouse club’s name … and she thinks Costco is by far the best of the three … and she is a master shopper.</p>

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<p>BunsenBurner & Justhismom, hey,I enjoyed reading about other diabetic cats. Yes, our old kitty did come back to life after getting his insulin shots. We were really afraid he would not regain the muscles in his back legs as he “thumped up the stairs”. But he did & he gained back all his weight, he has always been around 20 lbs or so! Just a big cat, the type who jumps on your lap, no matter what you are doing! (Like using a laptop computer) With this artic cold upon us, everybody seems to want him on their lap. Every so often he goes to the vet to have his blood checked & sometimes his dose of insulin is tweaked. We have plenty of friends/neighbors who have learned to give him shots, too, in case we go out of town. He just lies there, no resistance!</p>

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<p>I love the Mystic pizzas that Costco carries in a 3 pack</p>

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<p>Don’t know if someone mentioned this:</p>

<p>Double chocolate cake. It is better than what I could get at our local, fancy bakery.</p>

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<p>While I’ve been a loyal BJ’s member, you folks are all making me think I should check out Costco’s. I think I’ll do that before I renew my membership at BJs. (Next August or so.)</p>