I shop for just myself at Costco and stick to a budget. Here are 15 things I love to buy and how I use them.

Since it might be impossible to eat an entire pack of fresh produce from Costco before it goes bad, I usually cut it up and freeze it.

Smoothies are my favorite way to eat fruit, so this system works out nicely. I try to stick to buying in-season fruit for carbon footprint reasons and I like to stock up when I can.

Plus, I've also never seen so much organic asparagus for only $9 at any other store.

Though Orgain doesn't make my favorite protein powder, it's good enough that I buy it and add it to my smoothies.

Orgain's organic protein powder is labeled with nutrition facts so you can spend your EBT on it in Washinton state.

Orgain also makes pre-mixed shakes, but I think you get more for your money if you buy the powder and mix it yourself. My favorite is the creamy chocolate organic plant-based protein powder with 50 superfoods.

I've never been much of a nut-butter person (yes, including peanut butter) but I like Kirkland Signature's version. I have it in my smoothies to add more protein and a nutty flavor, which balances the sweetness of the fruit.

I enjoy it with apple slices or celery, which is a big deal because I'm one of those weirdos who doesn't really like this kind of vegetable.

The oil definitely separates in Kirkland Signature's nut butter so look elsewhere if you're searching for one you don't have to stir.

Chia seeds are amazing but I hate their texture when they're wet (you'll never find me eating chia-seed pudding). However, they're super useful and have some health benefits so, once again, I like to add them to my smoothies.

I also use Nature's Intent chia seeds as a substitute for eggs when I'm vegan-izing a baking recipe. To me, they have a slight cinnamony flavor and the Nature's Intent bag has lasted me forever.

My allergies went from seasonal to year-round after I got COVID-19 in January 2020 so now I take Claritin every day. I buy Claritin at Costco mostly for ease, though I think buying off-brand Loratadine is much cheaper.

A pack of 115 Claritin tablets at Costco is $40, which is about 35 cents per pill. By comparison, a pack of 100 tablets costs $50, or 50 cents each, at Walmart.

Though Kirkland Signature's organic and non-organic olive oils are similar prices, I usually buy the former.

I also read online that Kirkland Signature's extra-virgin olive oil is one of the better options out there and so far, I have no complaints.

I don't always eat gluten-free, but when I do, my go-to is Banza's chickpea pasta. If you follow the cooking directions, I find that it ends up being less gummy than other gluten-free pasta I've tried.

I also like that this pasta doesn't sit as heavy in my stomach and lasts a while in the pantry.

Though I only like certain brands of oat milk (to me, they taste different), I really enjoy Kirkland Signature's non-dairy beverage.

I'd rather have cow's milk over any other type but I'm trying to limit my cow-product intake for humane and environmental reasons.

It's creamy enough to make my morning coffee comforting or to add to a smoothie.

My mom would buy me Landjaeger as a special treat growing up so I was excited to see the product from Bavarian Meats, a local Seattle company, at Costco.

As I recover from lifelong issues with disordered eating, I'm learning more about my body and its needs. I've discovered that if I wake up in the middle of the night and struggle to fall back asleep, it's because I didn't eat enough to sustain me through the night.

Now, I have Bavarian Meats' Landjaeger on hand to help prevent restless nights.

I really like Red's keto-friendly quick and easy Egg'wiches. They take just over a minute and a half to microwave and taste pretty good, especially paired with Frank's RedHot sauce. One Egg'wich usually keeps me full until morning snack time, though sometimes I supplement it with toast or a smoothie.

I also recommend taking the cheese off before you cook the Egg'which. If you microwave it without doing so, I've found the cheese will melt off completely.

Disordered-eating recovery has forced me to change my ways when I cook for myself and Kirkland Signature's boneless-skinless chicken breasts have been a lifesaver. If I'm tired and disinterested in preparing something, I'll throw one of these bad boys into some foil, add some seasoning, and put it in the oven.

I love that it's quick, easy cooking and clean-up, especially because my resistance is less about preparing the meal and more about washing all those pots and pans.

Thanks to Kirkland Signature's chicken breasts, the freezer is my new best friend and the star of my recovery.

Cretors' cheese and caramel popcorn mix is one of my favorite snacks.

I've also learned that I won't binge as much if I always have snacks on hand. I thought I had to keep snacks out of my home to help with that but, for me, it turns out the opposite is true.

I also like picking up foods like Cheez-Its, Simple Mills' almond-flour crackers to go with tuna, and seaweed snacks.

After having salmonella poisoning, I don't eat raw eggs. I do, however, make a mighty fine scramble with Kirkland Signature's cage-free egg whites.

You can also add turmeric to dye the whites yellow for picky eaters who only like egg yolks. I did this for myself because the whites always freaked me out for some reason.

That being said, I learned the hard way to not use these in baking recipes — especially those that require eggs to be beaten into stiff peaks.

Whether they're made in-house by Costco employees or one of the many brands in the refrigerated cases, you don't need to be a family of four to benefit from buying the warehouse's prepared meals.

I buy meals for myself and make a list of the use- or freeze-by dates and hang it on my fridge. Then, I remove a portion or two for the fridge and portion out the rest for the freezer.

This way, I don't have to thaw more food than I want while saving time because I don't have to do extensive meal prep.

If you don't eat pork, you probably know how difficult it can be to find hot dogs or sausages that are completely pork-free. At Costco, look no further than Sabatino's smoked chicken sausage.

The sausages are encased with calcium alginate, which comes from seaweed, and reheat very quickly.

I like to add Sabatino's basil and cracked black-pepper sausages to cans of soup that need sprucing up, toss them in my Caesar salad for more protein, or eat them as-is for a quick snack. They freeze really well, too.

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