Do the stores there have a good supply of frozen food items?

Getting better every year. More and more frozen products. When I came here 35 years ago there was very little in the grocery stores. Ahora se encuentra de todo.

Christopher Howard

pebs wrote:

wow where do you live ?
i have watched in the 32 years of living here the Central valley supermarkets like here in Heredia. such as Walmart and
'Auto Mercado" " Pricemart"  similar to Costco. ( become swamped with LOTS of frozen and imported foods...
FORGET UGLY DANGEROUS SAN JOSE.. NO DEALS AND DANGEROUS TO SHOP THERE,
And for the budget shopper and bargain hunters ME,ME,ME we have a huge very cheap "Pequena Mundo"  lots imported from USA and other countries..like  Name  brand imported PEANUT BUTTER FOR $3 large size
i laugh when in read here people squealing about the high price they pay for peanut butter .(I bet they live in a Gringo Gulch, where prices are geared to same
.That newbie would have a blast finding imported meals ..and
USA imported canned meals.
He/she can just heat up and  BINGO A "feast LOL

So DEPENDING ON WHERE YOU LIVE, YOU CAN FIND JUST ABOUT EVERYTHING and no Khol you do not pay  a fortune in OUR AREAS,. COME ON  DOWN TO Heredia and i will take you food shopping for free.(the ride not the food) ..... I would like to see your face when you see what WE pay.

i live in the hills of HEREDIA a charming town  ( not many on this site even know it exists..although it was once the Capitol.)..
Well thats from following'  the crowd of Gringos. i . left them in   USA  so did not come to Costa Rico looking for them.
They move to a foreign country and cannot stop following  THE ARROWED signs ..saying "GRINGOS this way"
Same with restaurants whomever said high priced YES we also have them for special dates.. but all are high priced if you live in the "Zoo" ( Escazu, ) or ,Santa Ana  Grecia. Jaco, Guanacaste,  etc...or other GRINGO GULCHES.  But in our area,  FOR $6 we get FRESH breaded or Garlic Chicken or
talapia or Corvina with salad and juice with  (even in my honor my friend the owner made her yummy recipe of Vegetarian rice-instead of plain ) plus  crispy cooked veggies with fancy  rice and a freshly squeezed juice ( oh the delivery charge is a big one dollar) the "soda".cafe is .clean cozy and delicious...

THAT is why i get so ticked when i read here SOME saying you need $3000 per month to live here What a load of BS,
many manage very well on  $1,000 and not eating like paupers,,just chose the right areas...good luck and YES you can find LOTS of frozen food in our area..
try Heredia  and in the Hills 10 mins away....we also have the BEST Climate .EVEN THE LOCALS SAY THAT ..AND THEY
LONG TO LIVE IN CONCEPCION DE SAN RAFAEL...whatever you read here....NOT like beaches and Atenas  which isWAY too hot to breathe..Ahh all this and fresh air to boot...OH AND DON'T BUY VEGGIES OR FRUIT IN ANY STORE We have Sunday farmers markets in both villages 5 mins from my farm .cant get fresher or cheaper prices than farmers markets..( Named FERIAS here )

I am pretty sure prices in your Heredia are not that different than prices here in San Ramon.
I'll show you mine if you'll show me yours.
I suggest we take some photos of supermarket receipts showing things like milk, eggs, cream cheese, and other staples and see if there's a big difference in your Heredia as compared to here in San Ramon. Several of the people here on this forum live in San Ramon area or Palmares so it will show if there's a big difference or not.
It may well be somewhat cheaper on Heredia because it's closer to San Jose but I would not expect to see many big differences.
At the feria they don't give receipts so that's another story but I will assure all that here at our feria we get very good prices on vegetables and fruits.

As to how much one spends per month on groceries this varies a lot from person to person or family to family.
I, for one, "splurge" on food. I try to eat healthy food and often spend extra for whole wheat and whole grain products like bread and whole wheat tortillas and I buy canned Mexican salsa because I love it and I'm too lazy to make my own... I buy things like pumpkin seeds and almonds which are expensive here in Costa Rica as compared to Trader Joes in the USA. Etc.

I find that prices of food here in Costa Rica - overall - are about the same as in the USA. However I do not eat meat or fish so not sure about those. I do eat cheese and cheese is about the same here as in the USA except if you get the imported stuff which obviously costs more. There are local cheeses here which are very good and now I'm finding even cheddar and jack in packages at the supermarket (Maxi Pali) for a good price.