Last week, Little Buddy and I were browsing the beautiful aisles of Costco, doing our twice-a-month stock-up. We happened upon a display of Paleo pancake mix and were very intrigued. “There’s no way these can be as good as regular pancakes,” I said aloud to Little Buddy. But I had been thinking about purchasing pancake mix (for the days when I’m craving pancakes but don’t have time to make them homemade), and this was a very large bag for a very reasonable price, so I decided to give it a try. I have also been trying to cut back on my gluten consumption (although not eliminate it completely), due to some health issues.
Fast-forward to this morning. That pancake craving popped up again, so I decided to give this mix a try. I poured a few tablespoons of olive oil into my cast iron skillet and let it heat up for a few minutes. Meanwhile, I added 2% milk to the pancake mix and let it sit for a few minutes to thicken. The instructions on the bag say to add water (since it’s supposed to be lactose free), so keep that in mind of you are going for a truly Paleo experience.
When the pancakes were done cooking, I was shocked at how fluffy and appetizing they looked and tasted. You really couldn’t tell that they were anything but normal (ie grain-filled) pancakes. With a little melted butter and pure maple syrup, my taste buds were quite impressed.
Have I mentioned how much I adore Costco? They have so many items there that speak to my heart…and at fabulous prices to boot. Every shopping trip is an adventure because you never know what you’re going to find. The other day, I bought an adorable summer skort that is both modest and stylish, and it was only $9.99!
I am proud to say that Little Buddy loves Costco, too. He can’t verbalize it yet, but I can see it in his eyes. His carseat takes up half the cart, which sometimes limits what I can buy (I think Mr. Handsome appreciates that), but he loves our Costco outings.
They recently had a massive swing set on display…in the bakery of all places. (I will say that their placement of items doesn’t always make sense.) I could tell that Little Buddy totally wanted it. And Mommy wanted it, too. Now we just have to convince Daddy. Mr. Handsome isn’t a huge fan of swing sets (more on that later).
*This is not a sponsored post, just a message from a die-hard Costco fan. Just ask Mr. Handsome, he will confirm. He isn’t a Costco fan (yet), but he doesn’t mind having a membership because he loves their meat prices, especially on pre-seasoned St Louis-style ribs.
Anonymous
Please list the ingredients from the back of that bag. Let’s see what “paleo” means for pancakes. Please list ALL the ingredients, even if they sound like a chemist’s list.
Ellie
Sure thing. It’s a surprisingly short list: Cassava Starch, Organic Coconut Flour, Almond Flour, Eggs, Leavening (Monocalcium Phosphate, Sodium Bicarbonate), Salt, Monk Fruit, Spice.
Ellie
Anonymous
Coconuts make flour? Monks make fruit? We have cassava farms in the US? I just looked up cassava and oh hello, if eaten raw or not prepared properly, it will contain cyanide compounds. No wonder there are no more cavemen! ha ha
Anon
12:35 – Why come on this blog and make rude comments? Contact the product manufacturer if you have a problem with the ingredients. Coconut flour is an alternative to wheat flour and there is a fruit called monk fruit. Many foods that we consume can cause illness if not handled properly.
A
Anonymous @11:37am. You were very rude by asking that she list the ingredients . All you had to do was look online.
Anon
Costco is amazing! Almost everything Iβve tried is amazing quality for a great price! I browse the store, and it ends up telling me what I should try lol. Also a very ethical company. I absolutely love the snack and bakery, it doesnβt help when they have samples when Iβm hungry.
Ellie
Oh I know, those samples sure can be convincing!
Annie
Lol Ellie I love the way you say you can tell Buddy loves Costco from the way his eyes lit up π. Hope you manage to persuade Mr H he needs a swing set.
Ellie
Thanks, Annie! I’ll tell Mr. H your rooting for me with the swing set. π
anonymous
If you are homeschooling make that little mind build his own.
Candi
Thanks for mentioning it. I wish I could try it since Iβm having to go more gluten free myself but unfortunately we only have Sams Club where we live. Maybe I should see if Sams Club carries anything down that line since we have membership there…sounds very good though!
Anonymous
You can get it on Amazon
Candi
Ok Thanks! I hadnβt thought to check there yet.
Anonymous
I didn’t realize cavemen had pancakes. Wonder how they greased their griddle stones, and what they used for turning?
You might like a book called “Eating on the Wild Side” by Jo Robinson. She explains how food has evolved over the eons, both naturally and with human intervention, and which foods are still closest to their natural states. Fascinating read, even if you aren’t following any specific diet. It will change the way you look at the produce department, and change how you chop garlic. Plus there’s a good potato salad recipe using purple potatoes and no mayonnaise. I used to avoid potato salads because they always had to much mayo. I love the oil-vinegar dressing in the recipe in the book, and the salad is loaded with tasty stuff like sun-dried tomatoes and Kalamata olives.
Ellie
LOL, I know, the packaging is a little odd. Sounds like an interesting book! Mr. Handsome is currently reading “Real Food Fake Food,” which is on a similar topic. Thanks for the suggestion!
Ellie
Anonymous
I’m not a Costco shopper. I shop the sales at my regular grocery store, stock up then, and use coupons, which they double up to $1. I got a free 3-month trial to a warehouse store once and I hardly bought a thing because either the sizes were ridiculously large or I could find things cheaper at my own grocery store. I think I ended up buying batteries, grill spray, and some Halloween candy. What do you find at Costco that’s such a great buy? (Other than skorts.)
Ellie
Sounds like you’re one of those extreme couponers. π Costco has great prices on fresh chicken, which I then freeze, and ground beef. I also buy fresh fruit and spinach salad there (both of which we eat a lot of, so we love the large quantities). Milk and yogurt are good prices, as are canned tomatoes and black beans. And then things like toilet paper, paper towel, laundry detergent, and kitchen garbage bags. I do agree that grocery store “super sales” can beat some (not all, but definitely some) Costco prices.
Ellie
Ali
I love Costco. I buy almost all of my clothes there– jeans, shirts, jackets, socks, underwear. I don’t enjoy clothes shopping, so I’m happy to buy them at the same time I’m getting groceries. The prices and quality are fantastic. My husband actually just bought that exact playset yesterday and is planning to set it up for our kids. I think he’s crazy for trying to do it himself and I’ve never seen a backyard playset with 3 stories.
Ellie
What a coincidence! It looks like a really neat one. And it was a great price, so something you can feel good about. I’m sure your kiddos will love it. I’m guessing we will get that or something similar once our son is a little older.
Ellie
anonymous
The pre made chicken street tacos are our new favorite. They are in the meat department. Every ingredient that you need to assemble them are included, you just have to warm up the chickened and tortillas.
Ellie
Haven’t seen those. I’ll have to check them out!
Anonymous
If you had a real job and your own money, you would not need your husband’s permission to buy the swing set.
Ellie
Regardless of how much money the other makes, neither of us would make such a large purchase without consulting the other.
Anonymous
It seems logical that Mr H. might be playing with the idea of building his children’s play sets diy.
Candi
Right on, Ellie! We do the same…we want to be βtogetherβ in our spending and our saving, after all, we are one! Seems like that can be divisive in marriage when we make our own decisions with big purchases and whatnot. Well, anyway, thatβs what works for us!
Eileen
Goodness, it seems someone wants Ellie to single handedly solve manufacturing concerns in USA, hold down a full time out of home job while full time raise her son and maintain three blogs and take care of the thousands of details and decisions of a wife and mother. I think there are enough hours in the day Ellie for you to accomplish that while you purchase with your own money a swing set and don’t forget to assemble it too!! Too funny! LOL. I have worked many full time “real jobs” while being married and would never disrespect my partner nor him me by purchasing items without discussing it first. I like Costco and have bought everything from a walk in shower base and doors, to boxwood shrubs, to food, and everything in between. We can indeed over buy but have learnt to go with a list and think about what an average of two people can realistically eat! That helps. My favourite gluten free pancake mix is from pamela’s line of GF products. It is fantastic. Your blog was so much fun to read Ellie. Little Buddy has a great mom who is looking after his future adventures with a great swing set. Mr H over to you! Eileen
Ashley
Iβd be mad if my husband bought anything over $50 without telling me, even if it is with his own money! Everyone has different ideas about money, you shouldnβt be so rude when others donβt think like you.
Anonymous
$50?! I have a pair of shoes that costs more than that! My family spends more than twice that on groceries per week! $50 does not get you much in this day and age.
Araz
That is rude! And what is a βrealβ job? A job is a job. And no married person should ever make a large purchase like that without consulting the other spouse regardless of income you nasty person!
OhioMama
Wow @11:23 that is really mean. Being a SAHM is a real job, it’s alot of work and time. You need to take care of your child/ren and keep the house clean which isn’t easy especially when your child is sick, bored, or making a mess in a room you just cleaned. With Ellie’s baby still being so young he is probably getting up during the night to feed which is hard on her too especially if she is bf him and trying to maintain her supply. I am a stay-at-home mom and I love it and all the hard work. I’ve noticed and so has my family a huge change in my son’s development since I started staying home with him over a year ago. I also agree with Ellie I would never make a big purchase like that without my husband agreeing to it. Even if I was still working out of the house, because it’s our money and as a couple we need to agree on big items. Plus my husband still asks me about buying things even though I don’t work, it’s called respect for each other.
Ellie, I hope you can convince him to get a play set, they are so much fun. We have to put my son’s up still but it’s harder cause I can’t help with being so close to my DD with our 2nd, my husband working 10 plus days at a time, and me having to stay with my parents because of complications this pregnancy, but we will get it together soon. My dad said as soon as school is out (he is a bus driver) he will come too help get it done and my brothers said they would help too.
Ellie
I’m sure your son will be thrilled once it’s up! How close are you to your due date now?
OhioMama
May 29 is my DD, but our son came 5 days early, so we will see if baby boy decides to follow in big brother’s footsteps or keep us waiting.
Ellie
That’s just around the corner! Praying for a safe delivery.
OhioMama
Thank you
Marilyn
That is such a rude comment. A swing set is a big purchase & would be a joint decision.
Anonymous
That is delicious looking with the maple syrup!
I was watching Dr Joel Furhman about nutrient dense diets. So I’d do this to make the pancakes more nutrient dense….Get a single size electric coffee grinder, put raw, organic flax seeds into it, grind them to a floury powder and add to the batter. It will make them a bit browner, but not much heavier. If you look up the nutrients in flax seed you’d be surprised how good they are, very rich in nutrition and fiber. And not expensive. I add this to oatmeal, biscuits, even macaroni! Plus it can go on salads and in smoothies.
Abagail
My impression of Costco has been bad ever since they refused to sell the Dinesh D’Souza book. Apparently they eventually decided to sell it. Reading your blog makes me want to consider trying it but, we don’t have one near us. I am glad we have Walmart which gives us a good selection of items.
Your blog makes me want to try the pancake mix. I will have to see if Walmart carries it in the store or on their .com site. I enjoy reading your blog.
Anonymous
They said the decision to pull the book was based on sales, not on content. And then when a related movie came out and interest peaked again, they put the book back in the stores. I can think of companies that conduct themselves a lot worse than Costco does.
Tara G.
My mil buys these amazing salted chocolate caramels there. π
Anonymous
I’m curious about where those $9 shorts were made.
Ellie
Since you asked, I checked the tag. Vietnam.
Anonymous
The conditions in Vietnam clothing factories are forging ahead of factories in other areas of SE Asia, but that’s still like saying one landfill or swamp is nicer than the others. You know if you’re paying $10 for a finished product, somewhere someone is getting paid pennies an hour to make it. The growing demand for cheaper clothing is not a good thing and years ago, part of the reason for the demise of the US garment industry. You aren’t old enough to remember being told to “look for the union label” – the ILGWU label. Not that the union ensured that there would never be any problems for the workers…but there was a time when things were much worse (Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire). However, the massive move overseas for mills and clothing factories spelled the end of all those US jobs, union or no union. A sad part of the country’s history. I sure wish we had shorts made in America again, with American cotton. It would be nice if the consumer had more of a say in these mattes and wasn’t stuck buying so many imports. If Costco took a stand and didn’t offer shorts made in Vietnam, we’d only go elsewhere and find them there. That’s the unfortunate state of things these days.
Anonymous
There are still sweatshops and sweatshop like clothing factories in the US. People need jobs everywhere. And there are greedy people who will take advantage of others everywhere. I think it is good for people to make informed decisions about how they spend their money. But I think more change will come about through people loving their families and neighbors and teaching their children good moral values. Anyway, it’s older, but I recommend the book “The International Travels of a T- Shirt in a Global Economy.” It really changed to way I viewed this subject.
Anonymous
Love and moral values alone will not close the US sweatshops. Clinton formed a task force about this years ago. The Dept. of Labor does make raids and cracks down on violators, but it’s like a game of Whack-A-Mole. At least they’re trying, unlike other countries. The retail industry needs to stop accepting goods from questionable sources, even if the price is low and the goods will sell.
Melinda
Hi Ellie! You have ME craving pancakes now, ha π Thank you for sharing your thoughts on this recent find. On aside, I have this wonderful shopping cart hammock that frees up the cart for groceries. I would absolutely recommend it!
Mine is made by binxybaby.
Ellie
Just looked that up, Melinda. So neat! Haven’t ever seen anything like it. Thanks for the suggestion. π
Ellie
Anonymous
We have a Costco which is like 40 mins. away so we go to Sam’s Club which is like 5 mins. away. Costco looks like it might be a bigger store… Jane
Ellie
Costco is a slightly bigger store, and I do like it more than Sam’s, but Sam’s is still a great place.
Miley
Walmart carries Palo Pancake mix. I just looked online.
My grocery store carries it too.
Justine
See because U are Canadian, U can talk about pancakes, all U want, I love pancakes too, anytime of the day!!!!!! I hope your family is doing great, Little h is growing, and getting big, I love U 3!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Regina
We don’t have a Costco membership but we did many years ago and it was fun to go there. And oh those samples!
I remember one time we were there and Julia Child was there. She was with her caregiver and I thought about saying hi but I decided against it. I figured she should be able to shop in peace without some adoring fan bugging her.
She was gone a few months later.βΉ