I just want to take a moment to share a bit of awesome news--I have shared before that my oldest daughter has many severe food allergies--most of them to nuts and peanuts. She was off-the-charts anaphylactic allergic to several of these--the key word being was! She has been working with this amazing doctor here in Long Beach, CA and is well on her way to food freedom! I will get into the details of this more another time but  the basics are that you basically start with the tiniest amount of each nut and work your way up to where you are eating several nuts every day--working your way up to building a tolerance to where you can eat whatever you want with absolutely no reactions! It is truly working beautifully and look at all the nuts my sweet girls eat every single day now already!

We will be starting peanuts in just a couple months and I cannot believe it. It is absolutely life-changing and I am so thankful to have proactive doctors like this to help these children with food allergies live a more normal life and not have to worry about their safety. She was just cleared to eat as many almonds as she pleases--almond butter, almond milk, you name it! 

Anyway, I never thought I would be the mom grabbing bags and bags of various nuts back in March when I was stocking up a bit for staying at home, but alas, there I was in Trader Joe’s with a cart full of various bags of nuts. Trader Joe’s has been my go-to for buying nuts the last year and half. (**Disclosure: I was not hoard)ing--I am actually almost out of all the bags I bought two months ago because of the amount she eats every day!)

Nuts are so great for so many things but there is one thing all nuts have in common--they are quite pricey! Don’t even think about buying nuts at your local grocery or even Amazon unless they have something completely clearanced out or sell them in bulk bins. Costco and Trader Joe’s are two of the very best places to buy high quality nuts at the best prices. 

While Costco overall has the best prices per ounce, not everyone needs a jumbo size bag of walnuts and can finish them before they go rancid. You can always put some of the nuts in the freezer and still buy the BIG bag or you could also consider buying a more reasonable sized bag at Trader Joe’s for nearly as great a price. 

Another thing to consider for cross-contamination of nut allergens--one main reason I have never really bought nuts at Costco myself is because they must process all of their nuts in the same place because they all have the label warning that they are processed with all the kinds of nuts, whereas most of the nuts at Trader Joe’s are done individually and have no risk of cross-contamination. That being said--make sure you read all of your labels very carefully if this is a concern for you.

Here is a little side by side comparison of nut prices between Costco and Trader Joe’s:

PECANS:

*Winner! Kirkland Signature Pecan Halves: $15.99 for two pounds ($0.50 per ounce)

*Trader Joe’s: $4.99 for eight ounces ($0.62 per ounce)

WALNUTS:

*Winner! Kirkland Signature: $12.99 for three pounds ($0.27 per ounce)

*Trader Joe’s Walnut Halves and Pieces: $5.99 per pound ($0.37 per ounce)

ALMONDS:

*Winner! Kirkland Signature Raw Almonds: $12.99 for three pounds ($0.27 per ounce)

*Trader Joe’s Raw Almonds: $5.99 per pound ($0.37 per ounce)

PINE NUTS:

*Winner! Kirkland Signature Organic Pine Nuts: $22.99 for 24 ounces (0.95 per ounce)

*Trader Joe’s Raw Pignolias (Pine Nuts): $7.99 for 8 ounces (1.00 per ounce)

Another great thing about Trader Joe’s is that they have a bigger selection of more rare nuts that I purchase there such as Brazil nuts and hazelnuts--and raw seeds including pumpkin and sunflower. 

Where do you buy your nuts? Do you have any tips for storing large bulk amounts of nuts that works for you? Please share your thoughts in the comments below.