I was going to title this “That Darn Costco,” because most of the new foods I’ve gotten were from Costco. You know how they always have those sample carts out? Well, yes, I have to admit that I do try some of those products. Some of them are most worthy. And some are not.
A few weeks ago I was there with a friend. And there were some people there promoting their JERKY. I have never ever tried jerky. But I’d actually been wanting to try it for a few years. So I practically ran to their booth. Okay, what’s NOT to like? I think its got that combo of fat, sugar, and salt that makes cookies so enjoyable! Anyway, since I’ve never tasted other jerky, I can’t really tell you this brand was better, but I think it might be. For one thing, I think its softer than most jerkies. I bought the Teriyaki. When I went back last week, I got the lemon garlic turkey one to try–also delicious! 70 calories for one ounce, and there are 7 grams of protein in that. My BF pointed out that this could be a trigger food for me, and I think she’s right. But so far I’ve only eaten it when I planned it.
Periodically Costco has a booth offering sugar free “belgium” chocolates. I usually try the samples and move on. The other day I decided to get a box of the individually wrapped dark chocolates. About 50 calories (SF chocolate isn’t really a calorie savings) and very enjoyable. One is definitely enough to satisfy.
Last week when I went to Costco, there were some nice young men promoting their product–“Bolani Spinach Bread.” The label says it is an Afghanistan bread. It has a thin delicate layer of bread and quite a bit of spinach in the middle. OH MY GOSH. This stuff is unbelievably delicious. The ingredient lists are simple and straightforward. There is nothing I didn’t recognize in them. And the calorie count is really a bargain, as far as I am concerned. 103 calories for this large piece.
Not only is the bread delicious, but the toppings they sold to go along with it are equally as good. They are all low fat. In fact, NONE of them have any added oil. So to have the bread with the three toppings on it (that’s how they served it) is about 135 calories.
I have been thinking that these toppings would be good for other things. I had two of them on top of my baked potato the other day.
(That’s a four ounce tilapia filet on the plate. I eat small baked potatoes.)
Sunday I finally tried rutabaga fries! Oh my goodness, I really really loved these. Their texture reminded me of sweet potato fries. When they were cooking they did have a different smell, maybe like cauliflower. They are pretty low in calories. I will definitely be having these again.
I had them for dinner with a bowl of strawberries and cottage cheese. Perfection!
I guess that’s about it for my new foods reviews. When you’re trying to be very careful about what you eat, its really fun to find delicious new foods that will fit into your diet plan.
debby weighs in 
I love jerky but I rarely buy it because it seems expensive for the small amount you get in a package, plus my husband likes the kind of jerky that has the texture of tree bark. I just cannot get behind that. But a soft turkey jerky? Yes I could totally support that!!
That bread looks amazing!! Yum!
Your baked potato is so cute! And that bread looks amazing. I’d totally buy it. Too funny that you’ve never had jerky before! I like it, but it’s pretty salty, and I tend to eat too much of it (of course, I usually buy it when we’re on a road trip, so there’s that whole “eating in the car” thing attached to it)(you DID want to know my personal history of jerky, correct?). Um, where was I? Oh yeah, those toppings look fantastic, too, and I can’t believe they are made without oil! Love that!!!
LOL, why yes, I did want to know your jerky history (oops, that didn’t sound exactly right.)
Holy cow. I just looked up some sodium content info. This brand of jerky only has 250 of sodium per ounce. Other jerky has 580/ ounce. For comparison, cottage cheese (which I love) has 450/half cup. This brand was pretty expensive. I wonder how it compares with other jerkies.
Jerky history would include a boy named Steen, lol!
hehehee
I buy little potatoes like that. I have to purchase individual ones and hunt through the bin. I takes forever, but then I come home with 3 potatoes the perfect size 😀
Not a jerky fan here. Not sure why. I think it is too chewy or something.
I do the same thing at Sam’s since they have the sample carts out all the time. And yes, I’ve found some good things that way. We now have a Costco, but there are TWO Sam’s between me and the Costco so it didn’t seem prudent to change over!!
Sharon, I’d drive past two Sam’s to reach one Costco…unfortunately for us, the closest one is REALLY far away. But there’s no comparison – Costco is tops.
After shopping Sam’s Club on a guest membership and overhearing an employee being threatened with write-up for going across the street to buy some lunch, I refuse to shop there. Apparently they’re not allowed to leave the premises for lunch breaks even though they’re off the clock. I’m not sure whether that bothered me more, or the fact that his dressing down occurred in hearing range of customers while the supervisor was sitting on a bench smoking.
(Sorry for the rant, Debby, but I figured if Shelley could share her jerky history…. :))
I think I’m going to write to Costco and see if they will just give me a membership in exchange for being featured in one of my culinary adventures posts. 🙂 (I think I know the answer I’d get. LOL)
Oh man, that’s a job I could get behind!
@Cammy re: the Sam’s club experience. That is one of my biggest pet peeves. How can someone mandate YOUR time that they are not paying you for. I don’t think it would hold up in court. I know that nurses work that way ALL THE TIME. They don’t leave the unit, they cut their breaks short. Sometimes our charge nurses would come in at the beginning of the shift and say we were short staffed and everybody might not get their breaks. I just looked at them. I always got all my breaks. Its a matter of respect.
LOL. The comments have turned out to be way more interesting than the original post!
yes yes to all those food samples…cottage cheese and strawberries. I forgot all about that..gonna get some this weekend.. At Trader Joes this week I sampled Pomegranite cranberry juice and cheddar horseradish potato chips..both good..but no purchase here..
Isn’t it funny how we can forget a simple delicious food like that? I love being reminded of some of my old favorites.
I need to be more like JILL but I spend the money 🙂
too freely in only that arena…
Almost lunchtime here and now I’m super hungry after seeing all these great foods.
Especially the bread looks really delicious.
Sugar free chocolate? No thanks, I’d rather eat the real deal or nothing. I buy very dark chocolate these days (70% or more cacao) and it’s tasty and you are satisfied after one small piece.
I wish we had Costco!