Bobby Approved Costco List: 10 Staples Bobby Parrish Wishes He Found Sooner

In September Bobby Parrish walked Costco and picked the ten things he wishes he had started buying sooner. They are not new arrivals or one week deals. They are the staples he buys over and over: butter, honey, beef, flour, tuna, oats and a few others.

Here is his list, with his reasons, and a note wherever the evidence or my own record adds something. I am not connected to Bobby. Anything he says comes from the video, and if I link an Amazon version, I tell you whether I have bought it. Mostly I have not.

The quick way to check anything else

Bobby’s free Bobby Approved app scans a barcode and tells you whether the product passes, and why. His rules: no seed oils, no natural flavors, low added sugar, organic or glyphosate-free grains, grass fed and wild caught where it applies. It is on the Apple App Store and Google Play. Costco stock varies a lot by region, so the app matters more there than anywhere.

1. Kirkland grass-fed New Zealand butter

Bobby calls it a Kerrygold dupe at a much lower price. The pack says 95 percent grass fed on New Zealand pasture, with the other 5 percent from non-GMO feed, which is the same kind of feed profile Kerrygold describes. Put a stick next to a conventional one and the colour difference is obvious. The deeper yellow comes from the grass.

Bobby still rates Kerrygold. I will say that Kerrygold has not been worth it to me lately, so a cheaper grass-fed butter is the one I would look at first.

2. Kirkland popcorn snack bags

A newer item. It is not organic, which Bobby usually wants for corn, but it has the non-GMO stamp and it is popped in coconut oil with salt and nothing else. Bobby points to the SkinnyPop snack packs a few steps away: fewer bags, more money, and sunflower oil on the back. The Kirkland box has 36 bags.

3. Local raw honey

Every Costco region stocks a local raw honey, Bobby says. His is from Florida, and he has seen California and Minnesota versions. Raw means it has not been heated much, and Bobby says the regular stuff is heated to make it runny.

He also says local honey helps with seasonal allergies, because the bees feed on local plants. That idea is popular and the evidence is thin. In the one placebo-controlled trial I could find, 36 people with hay fever ate a tablespoon a day of local raw honey, national pasteurised honey or flavoured corn syrup. Neither honey beat the corn syrup.¹ A small Finnish pilot did find better symptom control in people with birch allergy who ate honey with birch pollen deliberately added. They did better than people on medication alone, but not significantly better than people eating regular honey.² Buy raw local honey because you like it. Do not count on it for your allergies.

Local honey is the one thing Amazon cannot really sell you, and a farmers market is the better answer for local. The closest match online is raw, unfiltered US honey in glass.

4. Grass-fed beef patties, in the freezer

Bobby’s point is that the best beef at his Costco is not in the fresh case at all, because the fresh case had no grass-fed beef. The frozen 100 percent grass-fed patties are 80/20, a little fattier than most grass-fed ground beef, and he likes that. They cost slightly more than the conventional patties next to them. Use them for burgers, or thaw them and make meatballs.

5. Kirkland organic flour

Two big bags of organic all-purpose flour. The King Arthur bag next to it is a little cheaper but is not organic, and Bobby wants flour that is organic or glyphosate free. His real favourite is not at Costco. He buys stone ground flour from a local mill, freshly milled, and says the difference is night and day.

The two flours below cost far more per pound than Costco’s twin bags.

6. Safe Catch ahi tuna

Bigger fish usually carry more mercury, which is why Bobby normally buys skipjack or chunk light. He makes an exception for Safe Catch ahi because, according to the company, every tuna is tested for mercury against a limit low enough for pregnancy. A can has 43 grams of protein. He turns it into tuna salad with mayonnaise, lemon, herbs, a little soy sauce and toasted sesame oil. If you make your own mayonnaise, here is the one I make.

7. Kirkland wild blueberries, frozen

Given organic cultivated blueberries or non-organic wild ones, Bobby picks wild. They are small, reliably taste like something, and he says they have about twice the antioxidants and fiber of regular blueberries. He also notes that wild blueberries are not sprayed. Use them in smoothies or eat them straight from the bag.

8. Organic A2 whole milk

A three pack of organic whole milk from cows that make only the A2 type of beta-casein. Bobby says many people find A2 easier to digest than regular milk. It costs a little more than regular organic milk, and he only buys whole fat.

9. Single origin olive oil in glass

For years Costco’s best olive oil was the Kirkland Italian single origin, in plastic. Now Bobby finds single origin oils in glass: one from the Baena region in Spain, a Tuscan one, and a two pack of Tunisian oil. His rule for Costco is to buy any single origin oil in glass.

The one bottle of olive oil in my own record is from Georgia Olive Farms, bought in 2023. It is grown and milled in one state, which answers the same origin question Bobby is asking, and it is the oil I pour when I want mayonnaise to taste of something. It costs a lot more than anything at Costco.

10. Organic sprouted oats, and Australian lamb

Sprouted oats. The biggest bag of oats in the breakfast aisle, organic, sprouted and certified glyphosate free. Bobby explains that oats are often sprayed with glyphosate before harvest to dry them out. Sprouting, he says, unlocks more nutrition and makes them easier to digest.

Australian grass-fed lamb chops. $16.99 a pound, up from $12.99 when he moved to Florida about six years ago. He says the same chops elsewhere run $25 to $28 a pound. The vacuum pack gives the meat a wet age on the trip over. His way to cook them: cut into chops, crust with smoked paprika and cumin, sear in a hot cast iron pan, and serve with yogurt or tahini sauce. They are halal certified.

Quick questions

Is everything here at every Costco?
No. Costco stock is regional. Bobby shops the Southeast, and the local honey in particular changes by region.

Does local honey help with allergies?
The best trial found no difference from corn syrup. A pilot found a possible benefit only when birch pollen was added to the honey on purpose. Buy it for the taste.

What is the Bobby Approved app?
His free barcode scanner that flags seed oils, natural flavors, added sugar and other ingredients he avoids. iPhone or Android.

Where are Bobby’s ALDI picks?
Here, from his December and August ALDI videos.

The bottom line

Bobby’s ten Costco staples are mostly about swaps. Grass-fed butter for Kerrygold, coconut oil popcorn for SkinnyPop, organic flour for King Arthur, wild blueberries over organic cultivated ones, and olive oil in glass over plastic. Watch his video for the aisle tour, and keep his app handy for everything else.

References

1. Rajan TV, Tennen H, Lindquist RL, Cohen L, Clive J. Effect of ingestion of honey on symptoms of rhinoconjunctivitis. Ann Allergy Asthma Immunol. 2002 Feb;88(2):198-203. PubMed
2. Saarinen K, Jantunen J, Haahtela T. Birch pollen honey for birch pollen allergy: a randomized controlled pilot study. Int Arch Allergy Immunol. 2011;155(2):160-6. PubMed