I’m surprised – happily – that I can save money and get a ton of blood sugar friendly foods at the Sam’s Club 10 minutes from my house. I’ve certainly changed my shopping habits to do that.
Before prediabetes was on my radar, I often stocked up on Sam’s Club’s supersize packages of carbs that I thought were pretty innocent: pretzels, baked chips, water packed mandarin oranges, Kashi Go Lean Crunch and low fat Skinny Cow ice cream sandwiches.
Those foods may be low fat, but they are high carb and all low fiber except for the Go Lean Crunch (and the fiber in the cereal doesn’t compensate nearly enough for all the carbs.)
After I learned my blood sugar was too high, I started shopping for more quality foods. At the same time, I tightened my grocery budget.
Increasingly, I’m driving to Sam’s.
I like to buy organic foods, but I’m no purist. At Sam’s, I find I can fill my cart with a combination of organic and conventional foods at much lower cost. Prices vary over time, but the following products at Sam’s cost less than at a typical Northeast Ohio supermarket.
Produce
Bagged avocados.
Packaged leafy romaine lettuce
Bagged lemons
Haricort vertes (long very skinny green beans, delicious when roasted)
Giant package of coleslaw
Bagged organic mini carrots
Bagged organic quinoa, much cheaper than at a supermarket or health food store
Dairy
Three pack of Horizon organic 2 % milk ( milk freezes very well)
Bags of Babybel light mini cheese rounds
Snacks
A case of Annie’s cheese popcorn (7 carbs, 100 calories a mini bag) A pre-portioned snack that everyone likes.