Happy New Year and Good deals at Costco.

Happy New Year!  I have had way too much chocolate this Christmas, and not the good for you dark chocolate but my favourite English milk chocolate, Galaxy - love the stuff and, unfortunately, Paleo Grandad likes to be my supplier.  I know, I could just say "No!" but, come on, it's Galaxy chocolate.

To counteract the effects of too much sugar, today is the start of the New Year and time to get back on track.  As much as I like chocolate, my digestion is out of wack again.  It takes a while to get everything straightened out and just a few days of too much sugar to feel the negative effects.  To get back on track I need to have the right food choices in the house and a re-read of It Starts with Food to remind me what I want to do. To get the right foods in the house a good place to start is Costco.  If you are ready to brave the crowds at Costco at any given time, there are quite a few Paleo items to be had that will save you some money. Apparently, US Costco's have even more Paleo items, if you are ready to take on the long lines at the border and the crowds at the store.

I hadn't been to Costco for awhile (Paleo Grandad usually goes when we need something), so I decided to go and see if they had any new Paleo items.  As predicted the place was packed - and the lights went out when we were just about through.  They must have their own generator, because some lights came on and everything else was working, it was just like shopping by candlelight, but it definitely made it harder to read labels which you have to do to make sure there aren't any non-paleo ingredients in what you are getting.

The biggest saving you are going to find is on coconut oil.  Costco has a 54 fluid ounce jar of organic, virgin, cold-pressed coconut oil for just $17.99 - what you pay for less than half that quantity in a regular store.  I use coconut oil for cooking and baking - a good fat with many health benefits.

Another item that is new since my last visit is a one litre bottle of  Avocado oil for $10.99.  Avocado oil is another healthy fat, good for high-heat cooking, though I plan to use it to make Paleo mayo with my immersion blender.

Raspberries are my favourite fruit and I got 2 pints for $4.89.  Great for dessert by themselves or, if your digestive system can handle dairy, over full-fat Greek yogurt. Brussels sprouts - my favourite vegetable - was $4.79 for 2 pounds; Raw, crinkle cut sweet potato fries were also $2.49 and while you probably could make your own sweet potato fries yourself for less, there is a convenience factor here that I need.   The same with pre-sliced mini Portobello (crimini) mushrooms.  I have had good luck with Costco avocados and they are certainly a better price - $7.99 for five large avocados versus $2.99 per avocado at the grocery store.

The most interesting thing I found were the cooked beets.  If you are a beet fan you know that beets are messy to prepare but I found a 1 kg. pack of cooked beets for $6.69.  These beets are going to be turned into Well Fed 2's Belly Dance Beet Salad.

Another interesting find is Stirling Creamery European Butter for $5.49 a pound (a Canadian churn-style butter).  I make my own ghee which is much more economical - and tastier - than the jar you can buy for $15.99.  The Stirling Creamery website talks about using locally sourced cream for their butter, but I couldn't find any mention if the cows the cream comes from are pasture-fed.

And last but definitely not least, I found a  a 1.5 kg. bag of frozen cherries grown in Canada to make Nom Nom Paleo's Cherry BBQ Sauce for the steak skewers - can't wait.