29.7.11

Canberra Costco - Report, Gluten Free & WW points

Costco opened in Canberra last Friday. we were pretty sure we'd join but weren't planning to check it out until the crowds died down. however curiosity overtook us and we headed out on Sunday morning, into the crowds! (we were smart enough to only take 1 child, and to become members online before going however ;))

we were impressed! it was a little hard to get around last sunday, but I went again today with mum and it was just pleasantly full.  both times we had to wait only minutes to get through the check out anyway.

while they don't (yet?) have the gluten free bread i was told they would stock when i called them a week or two before opening, there are quite a few GF products available, including:

  • bhuja mix 800g $9.89
  • Strawberry freddos 72pk $11.49 (now hidden from me and the kids hehe)
  • corn thins 3 pk $9.49
  • honey ham 500g $5.99
  • organic quinoa 1.81kg $10.99
  • hans hot dogs 1kg $7.19
  • italian sausages 1.34kg $14.73 (we didn't notice they were italian, not sure about the regular ones!)
  • Yumis 3pk dips 1.19kg (3 x 385g) $12.79 (beetroot, green olive, sweet potato & cashew)
  • moira mac's chicken breast slices 400g $9.49
edited to add that there was also Carman's (?) gluten free muesli and also the muesli bars. and there is nothing GF at their cafe that i could see.

also my favourites - along with their weight watchers pro points (yes, i'm back on the wagon, and was very excited to see the fabulous points, especially for the beef!) - we don't usually buy ready made meals but we weren't sure if we might have had guests for dinner so thought we'd give these a try. so far we've had the beef rendang (delicious!) and thai green curry (nice, but a bit too sweet). we are using vegies to eke each 1kg tub to 2 meals which is plenty. so far they have been quite spicy so be warned!  weight watchers points below are for a 200g serve (which is a big serve so you might like to reduce it if you need to cut back the points)

  • beef rendang 1kg $14.39 - 6 (yes SIX) WWPP per 200g serve
  • thai green chicken curry 1kg $14.39 - 10 WWPP per 200g serve
  • butter chicken 1kg $15.79 - 13WWPP per 200g serve

other non or not specifically gluten free things we bought include:
  • 1kg frozen blueberries $6.29
  • 3 pk sensodyne toothpaste $21.99 (usually around $9 per tube)
  • 1.3kg fresh beef lasagne $8.99
  • 2pk crumpets $2.49
  • 1kg strawberries $10.99 (on sunday they had bananas for $10/kg but none left today :()
  • 12pk tuna in springwater (the little ones around 120g) $12.99

i think we'll definitely get our money's worth for the membership, especially if we get out there every 2-4 weeks. maybe find someone to carpool with a 60km round trip to get there ;)

4 comments:

The InTolerant Chef ™ said...

HI there! I was wondering if Cosco was worth all the hype, and especially if they had enough gfree to entice me, glad to hear your observations.
I'm gluten and lactose InTolerant and also live in Canberra, and I just today unwrapped my brand new almost Thermomix. (don't judge me, it was a gift!) So I was very excited to find your blog when I was looking for some recipes. I just made some mixed berry jam, and it was great, but I need to figure out all the different functions and buttons :) I almost broke it already when I didn't have the butterfy thingie clicked in properly, but I shall keep that my little secret- so don't tell anyone OK?:)

brazen's crafts said...

hi! i recently discovered your blog and have been stalking you too ;)

my daughter is coeliac, and i seem to have issues with dairy and gluten so try to avoid them for the most part too. have fun with your machine (what is it?) !!

ritten said...

Love how detailed your reviews of the restaurants are! given me some new ideas for places to go to eat ( new to canberra here )

oh and don't forget the 1.5 kilos of jelly belly beans from costco!

brazen's crafts said...

ohhh yes, i forgot mum bought the big jar of jelly belly beans! (which are gluten free!) i will have to ask her how much they were :)