Meal prep and menu if you're a Costco shopper...

[Anonymous]

we do a ton of Costco with a protein (chicken, beef tenderloin, salmon or pork tenderloin), roasted veggies (usually broccoli) and bagged salad (mediterranean), sometimes rice on rotate and repeat

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:we do a ton of Costco with a protein (chicken, beef tenderloin, salmon or pork tenderloin), roasted veggies (usually broccoli) and bagged salad (mediterranean), sometimes rice on rotate and repeat

Does it get boring? Does it feel like “cooking”?

[Anonymous]

Since it sounds like you don’t really cook, here are some ideas for premade stuff we regular stock up on from there for a quick kid friendly dinner:

Chicken cilantro wontons: steam with a bit of broth in a skillet with sugar snap peas or broccoli

Ravioli + sauce

Gyro meat. Serve on pitas with cherry tomato’s, cucumbers, red onion, plain yogurt

Frozen meatballs. Make meatball subs or pasta

Chicken apple sausage. Slice and sauté with apples and onions. Serve on rice

Salmon burgers / salmon fillets. Grill and put on a bun with avocado and lettuce.

The chicken tacos and chickpea/quinoa salad in the premade meals case are really good too.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Since it sounds like you don’t really cook, here are some ideas for premade stuff we regular stock up on from there for a quick kid friendly dinner:

Chicken cilantro wontons: steam with a bit of broth in a skillet with sugar snap peas or broccoli

Ravioli + sauce

Gyro meat. Serve on pitas with cherry tomato’s, cucumbers, red onion, plain yogurt

Frozen meatballs. Make meatball subs or pasta

Chicken apple sausage. Slice and sauté with apples and onions. Serve on rice

Salmon burgers / salmon fillets. Grill and put on a bun with avocado and lettuce.

The chicken tacos and chickpea/quinoa salad in the premade meals case are really good too.

I love to cook and I miss it, but with 3 kids it is so much work to plan, shop, prep, and cook. I do resort to the premade stuff all too often. I do miss REAL cooking!

[Anonymous]

I shop at Costco every week. However, I am trying not buying too much for freezer because of thunderstorms. We lost power 2 days ago for a long time. I hate to throw away food if we don’t have power for 48 hours. Costco is my main store but not the only store.

[Anonymous]

There are several YouTubers, who focus on meal planning specifically shopping at Costco

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:we do a ton of Costco with a protein (chicken, beef tenderloin, salmon or pork tenderloin), roasted veggies (usually broccoli) and bagged salad (mediterranean), sometimes rice on rotate and repeat

Does it get boring? Does it feel like “cooking”?

beef /pork/ chicken/ salmon + veggie + salad or rice on a weeknight? yeah, that's enough "cooking" for us.

[Anonymous]

Costco is awful for that type of shopping. You will end up wasting money and food. I prefer to order exactly what I need for each meal and have it delivered 2-3x a week.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Can you buy half a cow from a local farmer? That would take a lot of guesswork and save tons of money.

OP here we get all of our beef from a local farmer.

But that still begs the question…how to meal prep or plan ahead with Costco?

Why does it have to be Costco? If you’re cooking from scratch a grocery store is more useful.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Stuffed peppers are great for meal prep. They freeze well, too. You can get everything at Costco (bell peppers, ground beef/turkey, rice, cheese).

I always have jarred pasta sauce, organic pasta variety pack, Parmesan, and Kirkland pesto on hand for pasta night.

Caesar salad kit, Kirkland frozen breaded chicken chunks, and tortillas/wraps for chicken Caesar wraps.

three children under 5 won't eat stuffed peppers ask me how I know

Mine did, but I had to cut the peppers before serving. I make mine with quinoa salsa beans cheese. Making it this week in slow cooker to beat the heat, but one can microwave too

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Can you buy half a cow from a local farmer? That would take a lot of guesswork and save tons of money.

OP here we get all of our beef from a local farmer.

But that still begs the question…how to meal prep or plan ahead with Costco?

Why does it have to be Costco? If you’re cooking from scratch a grocery store is more useful.

I’ve done it, why can’t it be possible? There are some things that are always available. Certain breads, veg, fruit, oats always there

[Anonymous]

It sounds like you are ready to cook more but Costco is tripping you up. Maybe try meal planning and going to a regular grocery store for a couple of weeks. You may end up saving money- because with meal planning you buy what you need versus what you think you might need.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Can you buy half a cow from a local farmer? That would take a lot of guesswork and save tons of money.

OP here we get all of our beef from a local farmer.

But that still begs the question…how to meal prep or plan ahead with Costco?

I couldn't do it just at Costco. There'd be too much food waste of the produce when my kids were that age. We couldn't eat it fast enough. I think you're struggling because you need to add a grocery store for perishables and small items for recipes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Can you buy half a cow from a local farmer? That would take a lot of guesswork and save tons of money.

OP here we get all of our beef from a local farmer.

But that still begs the question…how to meal prep or plan ahead with Costco?

After a Costco trip, DH and I plan together with what will be done with various proteins. He packages up meat and chicken into ziplock bags freezer bags with specific recipes written on the bag including cookbook page number. I add it to our freezer inventory list and when I menu plan, I have the freezer list in front of me and pull the week's menu from it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Costco is awful for that type of shopping. You will end up wasting money and food. I prefer to order exactly what I need for each meal and have it delivered 2-3x a week.

Costco frozen food is usually portioned sufficiently. For lunch last week, I had salmon burgers. 20 minutes in the air fryer that doesn't need my attention and it's ready. Add side salad that is just mixing.