Warning, don’t walk through Costco when you’re hungry

One of the first things you will hear when you're being counseled on managing your diet is to never go grocery shopping when you're hungry. 

That counts double for Costco. 

Costco can become a snackers dream or a dieter's nightmare. I realize that Costco is more than about buying food, but my gosh, so much food is there. When I go to Costco, the first thing I do is walk in the door and make a beeline for the bakery. You never know when something new and tasty is going to show up. If anyone ever asks me, I just tell them I'm there to say hello to my friends.  

My next stop is to go back to where the deli is. Typically, that's where the rotisserie chickens are, and I look in the deli cases to see if there's any new protein that I would be interested in. Last Sunday they had the BBQ chicken Mac and cheese. I saw that and my eyes said “yes, ohh yes” and my brain said, “don't you dare”. I managed to get away unscathed.  

Then I made my way back down to the other end of the store where the cash registers are And, on the left, just before you hit the cash registers, there's the snack aisle. Travelling the snack aisle I did see some very interesting things that I would never get, and a few things that I know I better not get. 

Watch out for the snack aisle

One of the items that I saw that I knew I'd better not get was the Siete Grain Free Churro Flavored Cinnamon chips. I just took look at that bag and I said to myself, “that's one serving.” I don't dare buy that. 

Some other things I've seen in the snack aisle just don't get me excited at all. There seems to be a lot of emphasis on protein added snacks. Here are a couple of examples. 

I do like things that are sweet and spicy. I'm not exactly sure what these are, but I saw chili, lime, and something about avocado oil. 

I have a friend who loves everything pickle. I must confess I did get these a few weeks ago just to try them out and what can I say, they were potato chips, they were salty, and they tasted like Pickles. So, I guess if that checks all your boxes, Costco's got you covered. 

I thought I had successfully navigated the snack aisle until I turned around to head back to the cash register and saw this.  

RIP van wafers. 

Of course, the first thing that struck me was who in the world thought of calling This product RIP Van Wafers. I remember the children's fairy tale about Rip Van Winkle. I don't remember Rip Van Winkle being made out of wafers and dark chocolate, however. 

Is it possible they called them RIP Van Wafers because they would stay fresh in the package for 20 years? I don't think so. I think somebody in the marketing department just said, “ohh, this is whimsical, maybe somebody will buy them.” 

I guess that worked for me. 

It turns out that RIP Van Wafers is the brand name of the company. They produce all kinds of different wafers and cookies with the goal of creating products with only three grams of sugar with, as they say, “low carbs and high satisfaction.” 

So now I'm at home, I have a bag full of RIP Van Wafers and I got to give them a try. You open up the bag, which is resealable by the way, and inside the bag are individually wrapped wafers. Since I can't eat just one, I got two or three. (OK, four) out of the bag and gave them a try. 

The result is that the wafers themselves don't have a whole lot of flavor. The chocolate is, in fact, dark chocolate, and because of that, I thought they were pretty satisfying.  

Because I am me. I did not look at any of the nutritional information on the bag whatsoever, and I did not take note of whatever they considered a serving size to be. So, I guess when I get home tonight, I'll look at the bag and take note of the information. 

And then ignore it.