How to read labels and my favorite Costco items

I grew up living an hour and a half away from a Costco so we never went! All these years I never knew what I was missing out on!! I LOVE COSTCO. They have a lot of really good items that are clean and healthy if you take the time to read some labels! Today I want to teach you how to read labels so you can make your own wise decisions on the products you choose.

First when reading labels, you want to make sure that they contain clean oils. The bad oils are: sunflower, vegetable, safflower, canola, peanut, palm, corn, soybean oils. Avoid oils that are refined, or hydrogenated. These oils are only okay to get if they are expeller pressed! The oils that are better for you are: coconut, avocado, extra virgin olive oil, butter, and flaxseed oil. Yes, I know the good oil list is a lot smaller than the bad. These bad oils are man-made and are refined so much that they lose their properties and cause cancers and illnesses. So when you are looking for packaged items, check the labels for these oils first!

Second, avoid refined sweeteners! The bads are: high fructose corn syrup, sucralose, agave, aspartame, saccharin, sugar,  These sweeteners claim to have no calories, and many people may think this makes them better! But instead they again are man-made in a lab, and contain sugar alcohols which are so bad for us. The better sweeteners include: honey, maple syrup, monk fruit (personal favorite), dates, coconut sugar, stevia, blackstrap molasses.

Avoid these guidelines when you are picking out packaged foods, and of course buy non-packaged foods whenever possible! Fresh is best!

Here is a list of my top 15 favorite Costco items!

Favorite Costco items:

1. Dave’s killer bread
2. Organic restaurant style salsa
3. Kirkland Signature dried mango (perfect for a beach snack)
4. Kirkland Signature maple syrup
5. Kirkland Signature almond butter
6. Mozaic’s organic popped veggie and potato chips
7. Sweet mini peppers
8. Nature’s Path Organic Pumpkin Seed and Flax Granola
9. Aidells Chicken Apple Sausage (sweet basil and roasted garlic flavor is our favorite)
10. Kirkland Signature frozen triple berry blend
11. Organic Tropical Dragon Fruit (frozen)
12. Sambazon Organic Acai Packets (frozen)
13. Seeds of Change Quinoa and Brown Rice packets
14. Coconut Clusters
15. Organic Cacao Powder