We went to the health food store and Walgreens today. Here were our purchases:
The Health Food Store Shopping Trip
Ezekiel Sprouted Tortillas –$3.99
Raw Cheddar Cheese from a local farm — $5.93
Quinoa — $2.42
Pears — $0.99/lb. — $1.69 total
Chocolate Covered Sunflower Seeds (we’re going to use these for some Olympics-themed activities — I was looking for an alternative to M&Ms and these fit the bill!) — $6.70Total with tax: $22.24
I’ve never purchased quinoa (can you believe it?!) and have been wanting to try it. I was surprised at the price tag on it from the bulk bins, so I’m going to be on the hunt for a better deal on it since I’ve heard it’s really good and good for you. If you have a recommendation for where to get a good deal on it, I’d love to hear!
Walgreens Shopping Trip
10 Memo/Composition books — $0.20 each with coupon
5 Highlighters — $0.19 each with in-ad coupon
Glue — $0.39
Jumbo Glue Stick — $0.39
Erasers — $0.39
2 packages Sticky Page Markers –$0.39 each
2 packages of Wexford Dividers — $0.39
3 Clear School Boxes — $0.49 each with in-ad coupon (2 not shown as they were snagged to be put to use by two eager kiddos as soon as we got home!)
Total with tax : $8.21
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{ 51 comments... read them below or add one }
I’ve found that if I like something enough to store a bulk amount on hand, it’s often worth it to buy an entire bag. Most of the bulk items sold at health food stores come in 25 or 50 pound bags, and most (especially locally owned ones) health food stores will sell you a sealed bag for 15% over their cost. I empty the bulk bag into food grade 2-5 gallon buckets (which I get free at the bakery section of a local supermarket) for storage.
I have not purchased quinoa in a long time because I bought a 50 lb. bag of it – organic – for $35. I’m sure the price is more than that now because it’s so popular.
Hope this helps!
Azure standard sells quinoa for the best price I’ve seen. It is a very good grain, We love it with pulled pork or really in place of brown rice in almost anything. I know a lot of people who make quinoa salads, too. Sometimes I like it just with melted cheese on top.
I just checked Azure and 25 lbs is 55.80 for organic quinoa.
Sam’s has quinoa for fairly reasonable.
We buy it from Azure Standard too! I’ve had mine for several months so I have price compared lately, but the last time I checked it was the cheapest place to find it. It is SO good. We use it in place of brown rice quite a bit too. It tastes awesome with spaghetti sauce and we also like to use it to make a meatless fried rice.
Barbara Bakes posted an excellent quinoa recipe on her blog. My 2 year old loves it! Here’s the link: http://bit.ly/MazJtM
Buy your quinoa from vitacost!
No bacon?
I am on a quinoa kick just this week! I could probably eat it daily for lunch with tomatoes, cucumbers, feta, onion… put it in your salads….make patties…limitless options! Sign me up for splitting a bulk order!
I was going to look at it, but I completely forgot with the kids in tow, trying to figure out the prices on the stuff that wasn’t marked –which was about everything! — and while talking on the phone at the same time. I’m not as good of a multi-tasker as you!
My poor family will have to survive without the bacon… or I might go back tomorrow for it!
If you decide to order it from Azure, I’m in for half of it — especially after choking on the price of it locally today! But let me cook it first and make sure I actually like it.
Quinoa is my favorite grain!
I have to share what our family thinks is a super-yummy way to eat it….we call it Crispy Quinoa. Cook up some quinoa (at a ratio of 1.5 cups of quinoa and 2 cups of water-cover and cook for 20 minutes) Let it cool. I sometimes spread it on a cookie sheet to do this. You can also cook it ahead and have it in the fridge. Melt some coconut oil or butter in a skillet and add your chilled quinoa. Spread the quinoa out in the skillet so that you have a fairly thin layer. Put the lid on a bit sideways and turn it down to a low temp to let it crisp. DO NOT STIR IT! Let the quinoa cook until it’s nice and crispy on the bottom of the layer and still a bit moist on the top ~ sometimes I let it cook for 20-30 minutes. (You want it to cook very slowly) Sprinkle on some sea salt and you’re good to go! Sometimes I’ll add some minced garlic with the oil…makes it even yummier!
Costco has a 40oz bag for about $8. It is the best deal if you have a membership.
Yup! I was going to recommend Costco also. They have a surprisingly large number of organic and minimally processed foods also.
Thanks so much for sharing!
I got a 2 lb. bag at BJ’s, and I think it cost $5 (it is also organic). Personally, I think it would take a long time to go through a 25-30 lb bag, unless that is the primary grain you’re eating and you have a large family. Quinoa is pretty hearty and filling.
I wish we had a health food store near us like yours. I have given in and added quinoa to my grocery list for this month. I have read the health qualities and seen some great recipes.
The cheapest place that I’ve found Quinoa is Costco… I can’t remember the price, but I know that I got about 10x the amount of quinoa at Costco as I did for a super small box at Meijer.
@Mandy, sorry for reposting the same info, I hadn’t read your post. Looks like we both thought of costco.
Blessings!
I’m not sure if it varies by region, but ours was $10 at Costco for a 4lb bag.
Yep – at Costco’s Mid TN stores, the price is $9.69 per 4 lb. bag!! Huge savings over other sites!!
Hi Crystal,
Quinoa is a wonderful grain (seed) and counts as a complete protein. I have found it works great when you rinse it before even if it says it’s pre-rinsed. Even rinsing it a few minutes aids in digestion. My mom cooks hers with homemade bone broth, it’s incredible!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quinoa#Preparation
Rachel
PS: Costco normally has it in bulk for a reasonable price.
Quinoa tends to expand enormously when cooked, so a little bit goes a long way. The first time I made it, I made the mistake of cooking 2 cups at once because that is what I normally do for rice or cous cous. Ha! We were eating quinoa for a week in everything I could possibly think to put it in. In the end I made up 3 large meatloaves with it and stuck them in the freezer. I felt like the leftovers would NEVER end LOL.
I’ve found that Costco has the best price by far for quinoa. They sell organic quinoa in a 3 lb bag for $10. The best part, to me, is that it is already well-rinsed, so you don’t have to mess with that step like you usually would. I don’t have a membership to Costco, but I just ask my friend to pick me up a bag when she goes
Awesome savings!
Have you ever eaten Ezekial bread, before. A friend of mine told me about it and said that it’s definitely an acquired taste.
I’m interested in trying it out, anyway….. and quinoa, too.
Here’s my Ezekiel Bread recipe. I make it every 1 1/2 weeks & eat it for breakfast every day. I’ve never tried freezing it. It is not a sandwich or toast bread like the frozen in the health food store. It’s kind of quick bread consistency, but not really. It’s very high fiber, so I don’t recommend an adult eating more than 2 slices per day until you see how your stomach does with it.
Ezekiel Bread Makes 2 loaves Preheat oven 375°
2 ¾ c unbleached whole wheat flour
1 ¾ c unbleached rye flour
2 tbsp spelt flour (optional)
¼ c millet flour
¼ c lentil flour (I grind red lentils in coffee grinder)
½ c barley flour
6 tbsp garbanzo bean flour
¼-1/3 c sunflower seeds (optional)
½-1 c raisins (optional)
Mix dry ingredients together. Can make ½ recipe to make one loaf, then store remaining flour in refrigerator.
3 tbsp honey (amount will vary with different brands)
2c very warm water ( I heat in microwave 1 min 45 sec)
3 tbsp yeast
Blend honey, water, & yeast in large mixing bowl. Use ½ liquid ingredients if making one loaf. Let sit 10-30 min to let yeast rise. *You can use more honey to make it sweeter, but will need to decrease the water–you’ll have to guess by how much–it took several attempts for me to figure out how much liquid I’d need. Using 3 tbsp honey does not make a sweet bread.
Mix in ½ c Cold Pressed Extra Virgin Olive Oil or cocnut oil to liquids. Blend flours, seeds/raisins into liquid mixture. Dough will be very thick & sticky. Spread dough between two prepared (sprayed with non-stick cooking spray) bread pans. Place immediately in 375° oven & bake 60 minutes.
This bread does not raise much & crumbles easily!!! It will be less crumbly if sliced at least 8 hours after removing from oven. I usually let it sit over night before slicing. It would probably slice better if refrigerated 1st–I’ll have to try that! It does taste great warm if you don’t mind more broken pieces!! It tends to mold if not eaten in 1-1 1/2 weeks, so I store mine in rubbermaid in the frig, then heat in microwave every morning.
I purchased the lentils & some of the flours from Vitacost when they had free shipping.
Quinoa…. Organic….. Costco.
$9.79 for 4 pounds
Is there a difference taste wise on the raw cheese? We’re huge dairy people (7 gallons of milk a week for a family of 3) and tons and tons of cheeses. I’d love to switch to organic/raw as long as it was worth the price.
As far as I know, raw cows milk is illegal to sell in NC, but I’m not sure on the cheese. Where can you get it aside from healthy stores? We have Lowes, Target, Wal Mart, Just Save, Fair Value, and a Galaxy, but that’s it.
Also, what do you use quinoa for?
Easiest way to cook quinoa is in a rice cooker: http://glutenfreegoddess.blogspot.com/2009/01/how-to-cook-quinoa-super-easy-way.html.
Definitely rinse it. Otherwise, it tends to be bitter.
One note on quinoa (which I love, but have had to work with), if you cook it in something without a lot of flavor, it can taste really bland/earthy—no matter what you top it with.
I’ve actually cooked it in pineapple juice to serve with a stir-fry. That was a hit around here. But even if not going for something that fancy, cooking it in stock is much better than water.
I didn’t mean for that to be a reply to Carey–oops!
Make sure you cook that quinoa in chicken broth, and not in water as the directions probably state. It makes a huge difference!
This is good to know; I didn’t care for the quinoa when I made it, but used water. I want to try again and appreciate the comments on using something other than water.
A good way to cook quinoa is not boiling it! But cooking it as a traditional risotto dish: a bit of oil, onion cooked until translucent, raw quinoa (well rinsed in water) toasted a few minutes and then cooked in a bit of broth, added slowly when needed.
I love it this way!
I like buying a large bag of quinoa from Costco. I don’t remember the price, but I think it is better deal than Trader Joe’s.
I have a cute craft you can do with those mini composition books: http://thepeacefulmom.com/2012/07/25/back-to-school-craft-mini-friendship-notebooks/
Super easy and cheap to make if you use items you already have at home. These make great stocking stuffers too if you want to get a jumpstart on Christmas.
how funny that I bought quinoa at Food for Thought today… have you checked their bulk bin price…I can’t remember off the top of my head… love that store…got lots of other bargains, too:)
I get my quinoa at Costco
If you’re looking for a smaller quantity, you can get a 1 lb box of quinoa at Trader Joes for $3.
Quinoa is amazingly good. I use it all the time in any recipe I’d typically use rice. It’s also a complete protein so it’s an easy/cheap way to go meat free. ANYWAY…I’m not sure if you have a Whole Foods anywhere near you; but, the cheapest I’ve seen quinoa is Whole Foods’ bagged organic quinoa. It’s a 1-lb bag for $3.99. It’s actually cheaper than Whole Foods’ bulk quinoa (go figure).
I found some Bob’s Red Mill quinoa ( and some of their other products) at Big Lots!
I bought quinoa today too for the first time. Unfortunately the only one I found was $7 so I am definitely needin to find a better deal online I it’s something I’ll end up using a lot. I saw a Mac and cheese type recipe on pinterest using quinoa instead of noodles
I bet that’s good!
I purchase my quinoa at Sam’s – 2 lbs of organic quinoa for $4.98. This is in northern KS.
I get my quinoa from Cotco. I think it is albs for $10. I could be wrong but I think that is right. We always have it in the house.
I’ve seen quinoa for a great price at Costco lately.
I get mine at Costco or from countrylifenaturalfoods.com
costco’s organic quinoa can’t be beat on price!
costco in colorado has 4 lb. of bob’s red mill organic quinoa for $8.99. by far, the best deal there is!
At the moment, the Kindle version of “The Quinoa Cookbook: Everyday Superfood Recipes for a Gluten-Free Diet” is available for free.
Sam’s Club is a great place that I just found that has a decent deal on Quinoa. It’s expensive either way but that is the best deal I have found. It is .15 per ounce. The cheapest I have found is around .30 per ounce. I hope that helps!