I'm a personal trainer with a family of 6. Here are 12 things I'm buying this month

Protein is a big focus in our house, and the Olivia tuna steaks at Costco are a new repeat favorite.

I like to marinate them in some soy sauce, fresh ginger, lime juice, and red chili flakes. Then I coat them in sesame seeds and sear them for just 30 to 60 seconds per side.

I slice them and add them to a bowl of fresh produce like cabbage, radish, carrots, cucumber, and avocado. Toasted panko with garlic powder takes the bowl to the next level by adding extra crunch.

I finish the "sushi" bowl off with some sriracha and mayo or some eel sauce.

Including veggies at every meal is a goal, but it can get repetitive when I lean too heavily on packages of frozen broccoli or green beans.

When we want a salad with some variety, precooked beets are so convenient.

Most of my kids love them, and they pair so well with dark leafy greens like kale or spinach. Toss in some nuts or seeds, some crumbly feta, and a quick balsamic dressing, and you've got a delicious vegetable side dish.

Beets are very sweet, too, so they lend themselves well to smoothies combined with pomegranate juice or raspberries and more of those dark leafy greens. I've even used them in baked goods like brownies for a healthier twist on red velvet.

I'm looking forward to trying them in pancake batter or oatmeal next.

Zespri golden kiwis have thinner, less hairy skin than green kiwis and are slightly sweeter.

These attributes make the golden variety much easier to pack in my kid's lunches since they'll eat them whole.

They're also fantastic in a fruit salad or on top of yogurt.

Last month, I bought the Carbonaut bread, which I love. But this month, Costco also had the brand's burger buns available.

We eat a lot of burgers made with ground chicken and extra-lean beef or pork.

The high fiber and protein in the buns make them more balanced nutritionally. Plus, they're tasty and fluffy, resembling a hearty whole-wheat bun.

Seafood is a clear winner in our house and Feature Foods preserved herring fillets marinated with sweet onions and wine are packed with flavor and don't taste fishy.

I send them in my kid's lunches with crackers (or thick slices of dark rye) and cheese. We also eat the fillets with sour cream as a snack.

I buy the Healthy Choice bars for myself, not the kids. I love the creamy orange-and-vanilla flavor, which reminds me of my favorite childhood icy treat.

They popped up in my Costco after a long hiatus, so I snatched them up as an evening dessert option.

They've got more protein than you'd typically get from an ice-cream bar (5 grams), and they're only 100 calories each.

Precut veggies are a huge advantage when I'm short on time.

The Verdina spiralized vegetables speed up dinner and add tons of nutrients and filling fiber to pasta dishes. We use them either mixed with pasta or on their own in everything from spaghetti to chicken "noodle" soup.

They're good lightly simmered in a sauce or you can quickly sauté them in a bit of olive oil and garlic for more flavor.

The dark chocolate-and-almond BarkThins are salty and sweet, with a hint of rich bitterness from the dark chocolate.

They're so good on their own as a sweet after-dinner snack, but this month, I discovered an excellent use for them as an oatmeal topper.

I start with a bowl of oatmeal mixed with chocolate protein powder, a dash of cocoa powder, and milk, and I add slivered almonds and BarkThins to the top. They begin to melt slightly, and the salty-sweet flavor spreads over the top of the oatmeal, making a delicious bite.

Peeling and cutting up carrots isn't something I usually want to mess with while trying to get my disorganized children out the door in the morning.

Cal-Organic baby carrots are a clear time-saver for packed lunches. I pair them with some of my other Costco staples, such as grape tomatoes and cucumber slices, and add some hummus or tzatziki for dipping.

The Florette mix is a handy bag of precut, raw beets and kale. It's a newer product at my Costco, and I've loved it so far.

We eat a lot of cabbage-based slaw mixes on tacos, burgers, rice bowls, and as a side dish, and the mix amps them up. Slaws also last longer than lettuce-based salads when stored in the fridge, making meal prep and lunch salads easier to make ahead for several days.

You can also use the mix to make a delicious salad with pumpkin seeds, dried cranberries, and feta.

When we spotted the POM Wonderful pomegranate-arils cups on our last Costco trip, my daughters requested them. The cups come full of the tiny, juicy seeds that you usually have to crack open the pomegranate to get at.

We love them on top of spiced turmeric rice, cereal, yogurt, oatmeal, and toast with almond butter.

They don't last long after opening, so be sure to use them quickly.

Dom Reserve smoked-salmon singles thaw quickly. All you have to do is place the pouch in some warm water to have a fancy bagel in the morning.

We don't use smoked salmon in many ways, so it's great that they come in single-serving pouches that we can keep frozen to prevent spoilage.

We mostly eat it with bagels, but we sometimes use smoked salmon in eggs or blended up with cream cheese and herbs for a delicious cracker spread.