I did my grocery shopping today at BJ’s Wholesale. I didn’t want to sign up for a membership because I have a Sam’s and Costco membership, but I received a free 2 month membership incentive in the mail and thought I would give it a try.
I have to say…I am quite impressed. They have MUCH more organic produce than Costco even does. I love Costco and find a lot of Paleo items there, but it’s a 20 minute drive for me. BJ’s is right down the road!
Here’s a few things I loved about BJ’s:
***Note: I buy organic when I can find it and when I can afford it into our budget***
- They are CHEAP! REALLY cheap…even their organic foods are cheap.
- They have Kerrygold butter!
- They have a MUCH larger selection of natural household cleaners.
- They have large quantities…but they also have small quantities. So, if you are single, or it’s just you and your partner, then BJ’s would still be awesome! They had large packages of their meats (5lbs) and smaller packages (2lbs)!
- LOTS of organic produce!
- A good selection of healthy snacks for the kids (nuts, fruit leather, Buddy Fruit applesauce pouches, organic yogurt (if you do dairy), cases of olives, and good selection of fruit (some organic).
Here’s a few things I bought at BJ’s and what I spent:
- Stretch Island Fruit Leather (all fruit), 30 pieces: $6.99 – These are usually $0.50 a piece in the grocery store. At BJ’s, you can get it for half the price!
- Organic Girl Superfoods Green Mix, 1lb: $4.99
- English Cucumber, 2ct: $2.79
- 1lb bag of Kale: $1.99
- Green Pepper, 4ct: 4.99
- HUGE bag of Organic Peas: $6.49
- Red Pepper, 4ct: $4.99
- Bananas, 3lbs: $1.49
- Almond Milk, 86oz: $3.49
- Organic Celery, 3 hearts: $3.79
- Applegate Smoked Turkey Deli cuts, (2) 7oz packs: $7.69
- Applegate Forest Ham Deli cuts, (2) 7oz packs: $7.29
- Applegate Beef Hot Dogs, (2) 12oz packs, $8.29
- Organic Fuji Apples, 5lbs: $8.99
- Black Olives, 6 cans: $6.89
- Organic Carrots, 5lbs: $4.49
- Blueberries, 18oz: $6.99
- Ground Pork, 2.5lbs: $4.98
- Beef Stew Meat: 5lbs: $17.08
- YoKids Organic Yogurt Squeezers, 16 tubes: $5.99 (this is the only dairy my kids get…I freeze them)
- Muir Glen Organic Diced Tomatoes, 6 cans: $5.99
- Kiwi, 3lbs: $5.49
- Buddy Fruit Applesauce Pouches, 12ct: $7.79
- Lara Bars, 12ct: $10.99 – *unfortunately, these were the Uber Lara Bars which have brown rice syrup in them…so not 100% Paleo
Non-Paleo Food Items (yes, I am human) and Household Stuff:
- Giradelli Chocolate Chips, 5lbs: $8.99
- Veggie Straws: $4.99
- Jimmy Dean Turkey Links: $8.99
- Basmati Brown Rice: $4.99 – (I buy this to go with my Asian foods at parties where some people don’t get Cauliflower Rice)
- Kids Shampoo, 4pk: $5.99
- Hydrogen Peroxide, 2pck: $2.29 (I use this for bleaching)
Total Spent: $210.00 – $10 over my weekly food budget
I allot $200 a week to groceries. This covers all household supplies, dog food, cleaning supplies, and anything else. This week, I am using these meats from my freezer: Tilapia, chicken breasts, and Salmon. I, always, buy my meat in larger portions and split them up, then freeze.
What else do you find at BJ’s Wholesale Club that is Paleo-worthy?
BJ’s is great and very close for me as well. – The best part is they accept manufactors coupons – so if you BJs bundled item, has 4 seperate UPC Codes (deodarant is a good example) then you can use upto 4 mnfg coupons with it stacked on their coupon – You can really save alot by doing that..
I also have a costco membership, since there are things at costco, they just dont have..
I love that they take coupons! I had a few Applegate coupons!
Does anyone know if they carry any bulk organic juice at BJ’s?
they do carry organic orange juice, in half gallon containers….i buy ALL the stuff you have pictured above!!!! I even went to the store manager with compliments on their “organic” selections!!!
Jackie, you found a lot of great stuff! I’m really new to Paleo, so I enjoyed this post very much. Good to know I can find good paleo items at the club. Would you mind if I shared your post with my readers?
No I don’t mind at all!!!
Where can I find apple gate coupons?? We love their products!
Oh! And thanks soo much for this post! It was really helpful. I shop there every week and didn’t know about the fruit leather!
I just discovered last week, tht my BJ’s has Coconut Oil! Best find ever!!!
And organic quinoa!! 4# for $12.99 🙂
I trully commend you! My husband and I went organic 2 years ago. We to shop at bj’s. FYI you should check out Mercy For Animals web site and be informed about the meat you are buying. Costco has moved in the right direction. I will warn you, it is graphic. But this has got to change. You will see what I mean. GOD bless!
You use peroxide for bleaching…can you elaborate on that? What do you bleach?
I love their 3 lb bags of walnuts, almonds and pecans. I refrigerate and then roast them (with coconut oil and sea salt) as I need them. There’s just no better savings. The produce like the 5 lb bags of vidalia onions or lemons are another staples that are invaluable for day-to-day paleo cooking!
Was the beef stew meat you purchased organic as well? If so, that is an amazing price. What about the pork?
The hardest part about paleo is the price of organic meat! For so long, we have only eaten meat meals 2-3x a week, so transitioning our budget has been hard.
Hi. I just found your blog. Thank you for doing this for us. I just shopped at BJ’s for the first time yesterday, also on the 2 month free membership deal, and I was very pleased. I was just wondering why you were over budget? I have never shopped at the club stores before and I will have to re-work things to buy in bulk. I will have to buy some things in smaller quantities, like chocolate chips. It would be too dangerous to have 5 pounds of chocolate in our house. 😉 Thanks.
what is Kerrygold butter?
Butter from grassfed cows.
Try Aldi’s. A whole lot cheaper and they have a large selection of organic foods too now.
Thank you for this comment. I would agree with you now, but when my post was originally written, Aldi had not yet made the move to organic and natural. It’s really good to see that they are now coming on strong in the natural, organic market, and may be a top contender at this point.