A Little About Azure

Azure Standard runs like a co-op. They deliver their goods once a month to many delivery drop locations, or drop site, throughout the United States. When you make an order you are committing to meet the semi truck at the delivery drop location and pick up your order straight off the delivery truck at a specified time on the designated date. 

Azure Standard is known for and believes in the benefit of organic foods. Although they do have some non organic products they are very diligent to source good quality foods. They are also known for the ability to order bulk quantities, they do also offer smaller or smaller quantities for their products. Flour for example, their organic all purpose flour has size options of 30oz, 5lbs, 10lbs and 25lbs. I buy 25 lbs at a time.

Azure Standard is a family and community motivated company. They strive to provide affordable and healthy food to their customers. From the way they grow their organic foods to the way the deliver, their motivation is for the benefit of the family and community.

A Little About Costco

Costco is a popular store that is known to have everything you will need. From organic groceries to swimming pools and insurance. They carry clothing and dog food, household appliances, pharmacy… Its designed to be a one stop shop. This is great! Some of their items are even in ‘bulk’ form, meaning you are getting more for your money. The prices at Costco are in someways are simply unbeatable. Especially for organic foods.

They have high quality prepared foods available such as their rotisserie chicken, big bags of chips, Sanders dark chocolate sea salt caramels, granola bars, the whole bakery section! They have a ton of organic or high quality snack foods. Good meats, bulk toiletries, and other household supplies.  

The Main Differences Between Costco and Azure Standard

Ingredients or Prepared Foods

Costco and Azure both have a great selection of healthy options but have one big difference in the items they carry. Costco leans towards more prepared food items while still having a good base for ingredients while Azure leans towards ingredients at its simplistic form before prepared foods. 

For example, Azure and Costco both sell organic flour. But Azure also sell wheat berries so you can make your own flour and Costco has a whole bakery where you can buy prepared breads, bagels, cakes, cookies, pies, muffins and more. Costco does not sell wheat berries, Azure has no bakery. (They do sell breads, bagels and cookies but nothing like Costco’s awesome bakery.)

Here is a list of a few things Azure sell that Costco does not and some items that Costco sells and Azure wont have.

Azure Standard has, but Costco does not.

• Dry Beans (even canned beans are hard to find at Costco)
• Organic Wheat Berries
• Raw Honey
• More Spices and Herb Options
• Raw Cheese
• Essential Oils
• Apple Cider Vinegar (Costco has some online only)
• Elderberry Syrup/juice/whole
• Organic Chocolate Chips
• Tallow
• Tons of delicious snacks without artificial flavoring and colors or chemical preservatives.

Costco has, but Azure does not.

• Muffins, Cakes, Pies other Bakery Items
• Pork
• Alcohol
• Shell fish
• Flowers
• Rotisserie Chicken
• More meat option in general
• Appliances and Electronics
• Tons of delicious snacks with artificial flavoring and colors or chemical preservatives.

There is so much more to both Costco and Azure than this simple list. But what I desire you to see is the different direction both of these store take in what they sell.

The quality and standard

Both Costco and Azure have great quality standards but… Azure Standards product standards are like not one else’s. Costco does a great job and with quality products but Azure goes above and beyond. Azure products, including all products they sell have to meet the very high standards of Azure.

To Learn more about the 50+ ingredients Azure Standard will not sell you that is often found in our local grocery stores, including Costco. “Azure Product Standards”

The standard the Azure Standard holds for the products they produces and sell may not be your own standard. To be honest, my standards are lower then Azures, but my standards are also higher then Costco a lot of the time. Azure’s product quality standards are high and you should never feel ashamed if your personal health convictions are not as the same as someone else’s. But we can still be thankful that someone else cares enough to offer me their very best.

Costco and Azure Standard Price Comparison

Where to buy bulk foods

So now, to determine whether to buy from Costco or Azure Standard we looked at the difference in what they sell, their quality standard, and the price difference. 

If you want already prepared foods and snacks in bulk then shop at Costco. If you like shopping in one spot for all your needs. Shop at Costco.

If you want high quality ingredients in bulk shop at Azure Standard. Also, if you don’t want to check labels and ingredients list, shop Azure Standard.

If you are like me you will probably shop at both! I order from Azure Standard monthly. I get oatmeal, sugar, wheat berries, raisins, beans, rice, spices, fresh/frozen fruit and so much more.
At Costco I shop for meats, dairy, nuts, toiletries, and a few treats here and there. Because I live in the central valley of California I get a lot of our fresh produce from a lady who has a delivery service that sources fresh produce form many local farmers in the area. If I didn’t have her I would shop produce mainly at Costco.

Let me know in the comments where you shop and if there is any other stores you would want me to compare.

The post Costco Or Azure Standard? Where To Buy Bulk Foods appeared first on Embracing The Home.

This is a honorable goal and can bring joy to the home as long as its not paired with overwhelmed and stress. Here are 5 ways to keep the joy in your home and the stress elsewhere.

• Letting Go of Perfection
• Declutter Your Decorations
• Keep Your Everyday Meals Simple
• Consumable or No Clutter Gifts
• Remember, All Glory be to Christ

Letting Go of Perfection

No matter what trick you use to simplify your home, avoid overwhelm and make the holiday’s less stressful nothing will actually work unless your attitude and perspective are right. Some people call this taking care of your ‘mental health’. I would say this is much more of a heart issue than a mental issue.

When you love something it becomes important to you. Once something is important to you, you get anxious and stressed when that thing is not going the way it should. As a homemaker, we are responsible for the things going on in our home. The cleanliness, the meals, the way the home functions, we are the ones who get to work that out and accomplish it. It becomes important to us.

What do you love?

I love homemaking! Creating a home that is comfortable, hospitable, clean and has the smell of homemade meals delighting the soul is what I love doing. I love when my kids want to be home. When my husband comes home from work with a smile on his face. I want people to feel welcome and at home in my house. This is all good, until it is more important, loved more than my own families well being.

So what do I love more? I love the Lord and the most important thing I can do as a wife and mother is emulate Gods love to my family. Show them love, teach them love. Walk in His way and teach my kids to do the same.

Proverbs 25:24 says “It is better to dwell in a corner of a housetop, than in a house shared with a contentious woman.” It says similar things in Proverbs 21:9 and 27:15-16. If I’m continually stressed over the well being over the home and I’m yelling, complaining and getting frustrated with the kids, I’m in the wrong. My love is on my home and myself more than my family who the home is for. I have become a contentious women.

Let go of perfection

If you find yourself overwhelmed, bitter and contentious over the busy holiday season you need to let go of the perfection of your home and seek perfections or sanctification in your relationship with your Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Avoid overwhelm by resting in the Lord. Remember His holiness. Be thankful for His sacrifice. Serve you family for His glory. Let go of the ideal perfect home and seek the perfect Lord. Let go of the idea of the perfect holiday experience and see the perfect Lord. Don’t hold onto the standards of the crunchy homemaker but seek the standards of the Lord. Only then will you be able to truly avoid overwhelm.

With that being said, lets get into some of the tips and trick that can help simplify our homes now that our hearts are set.

Declutter Your Decorations

To avoid the holiday overwhelm in your home, simplify you decorations. Now, I’m not saying you have to go all minimalist with your holiday decorations but try to avoid a cluttered look. Not every little angel, nutcracker or snowman has to be out every year. If your decorations make you feel like your house is clutter and uncleanable, simplify them.

A cluttered house can be hard to relax in. During this time of year our schedules are often full and cluttered. Our home should be able to give us all rest and peace. If the decorations stress you out, simplify them to fit your family’s needs.

Letting the kids help Decorate

When you have little kids who want to help decorate things can get stressful very easily. We imagine we will be making wonderful memories with our kids when decorating until they have their own great ideas of how things should look. Then its messy, unorganized, and chaotic.

I want my kids to be creative and celebrate our saviors birth with joy and not memories of mom controlling things and taking the fun out of it. But I also can’t stand the numerous messy, mismatching kids ornaments and cut outs, drawing and such. Its all clutter to me.

In our house, each of the kids rooms get their own tree with their own ornaments. My kids can also display all their arts and crafts and decorate in their own rooms however they want. They get to be creative and make memories. I get a tidy house with decoration that bring me joy and not stress.

Maybe you don’t want a tree or decorations in their room. You can also take same idea and apply it elsewhere in the house. Like a table, shelf or mantle that they get to decorate and arrange. Giving them some boundaries to their creativity is a good for them. When given boundaries they become more intentional with what they do.

Keep your everyday meals simple

The holiday season is all about food (and Jesus). From Thanksgiving to New Years there are so many traditional meals, sweet treats, from scratch family recipes we have to make. There are parties that we are baking for and edible gifts to make all on top of all the expected amazing holiday day-of meals.

For the homemaker it can be a lot of fun or stressful days in the kitchen. This is when meal planning and freezer meals come in handy. I love cooking, but it can be exhausting during the holidays to keep up with all the extra baking and cooking on top of the daily meals. Having a monthly meal plan laid out for the month of November and December help me a lot. Here are more resources on monthly meal planning.

When planning these meals I choose easy, simple meals that my family loves. Meals that can be make ahead of time if needed. In November I often make a few freezer meals for some of the busy days in December. This makes it easy for us to eat a healthy home cooked meal on days we have been out all day enjoy the seasons festivities. Having freezer meals ready also makes it easy for me to relax and not worry about dinner when I’m overwhelmed with all the extra holiday baking.

In all, to avoid the holiday overwhelm as a homemaker plan our a months worth of meals ahead of time. Choose simply easy meals. Have a well stocked freezer of meals ready to go.

Consumable or No Clutter Gifts

As a homemaker, as your family receives gifts, it can be stressful. As a mother with 5 small children we receive a lot of toys at Christmas time. It doesn’t help that we have November, December and January birthdays in our family. Lots of new things coming through that I must now find a place for in my home and teach my children to put them away properly.

The day after Christmas, about 3 years ago I remember looking at the mess and realizing I had not place to put all these new toy and I cried. I was overwhelmed. That day I made a plan, went to Walmart, bought bins and a new shelf, organized and threw out a lot of old toys to make room for the new ones. Here are a few tips on how to the avoid overwhelm and stress of gift receiving as a homemaker.

Tell your family and friends what gifts are appropriate

You don’t have to make this a joy killing moment of making harsh boundaries. It can be as simple as mentioning “We are getting out kids fun art supplies this year, they would love more coloring books too”. Often times that sparks a good conversation with friends and family as to what type of gifts are joy giving in your home.

In the past, to avoid overwhelm, I have had to give some family members a limit of how many toy and gift they can give my kids. Thankfully we have such good relationships that this was not offensive. When giving these types of boundaries I have often worded them like “We have a lot of toy right now, for Christmas I’d appreciate it if you only got them 1 toy. You can get them as many gifts as you want but can you keep the toys to a limit of 1 per child?” If you need more boundaries you can say something like “We have so much right now, and would appreciate a limit of only 3 gift this year.” Or what ever it needs to be.

What type of gifts to kids that are not toys

To avoid the clutter and overwhelm of toy during this seasons think of consumable or easy to store gifts for you kids. Gifts like sidewalk chalk, bubbles, coloring books are great non food consumable gifts. When they are done they are gone.

Food gifts, like their favorite snack in their stockings is always loved. I always fill my little kids stocking with applesauce, banana, boxes of yogurt covered raisins and fruit snacks and they love it! As they get older treats like, breakfast cookies, chocolate bars, trail mix. You can be as crunchy or not, food gifts are always loved.

For more ideas for no clutter consumable gifts here I have a list of 27 gifts ideas you can check out.

Remember, All Glory Be To Christ

Now that you have decluttered, stocked up on freezer meals, and your gifts aren’t stressing you out, you can remember again, this is all for the glory of Christ. It may be tempting to say what I do is for the glory of God. Christ is honored by my work. I give honer to Christ with what I accomplish. Like a knight saying he will win this tournament for the beautiful lady. Its not about me giving God glory with what I do but doing what He would have me do that brings Him glory.

All glory be to Christ means I seek His will and workout His plan that He has for me. God has prepared work for us to do and yes, doing the dishes, making the meals, wrapping the gifts so beautifully is a part of the life that he has given to us. But the work he desires for us is in our heart attitude towards Him and our neighbors. He desires us to love Him with all our hearts, soul, mind and strength and to love our neighbors as ourself. Put off sin, confess and repent, giving glory to our Lord.

When you do the work of a homemaker, don’t come to God saying “Look what I did for your glory” but come to God asking “What can I do to give your glory”.

The post How to find joy and avoid overwhelm as a homemaker this holiday season appeared first on Embracing The Home.

• Meal Planning for a Month Vs. a Week
• How To Meal plan for a Month
  • Start with Base Ingredients
  • Create a List of Family Favorite Meals
  • Meal Plan According the Ingredients You Have
• What Happens When My Schedule Changes?
• Free Meal Planning Templates

Meal Planning For A Month Vs A Week

Most people I know plan weekly meal plans or don’t plan and all. When I was trying to plan my family’s meals a week at a time I kept struggling to actually get it written out done each week. There was always a day or two that I’d be struggling to think of something last minute because I failed and getting a menu plan written out in time. 

January of 2024 I decided to try planning my meals for a entire month. I planned the whole month out and it took so much stress away! I thought that if I had a hard time planning a weekly menu then monthly meals would be worse, but it was easier.

New Recipes

When planning the month I was able to be more consistent and more creative with new recipes with my meals. When meal planning for a week at a time I would find myself trying think of different meals for each week. If we had it last week I though I couldn’t plan for it again the next week because we would get tired of eating the same foods all the time. 

As I planned a month out I was able to see how often I was repeating meals and how often I was adding in new meals more clearly then when I was planning for a week. I no longer felt guilty keeping the same easy quick meals ever Tuesday and Wednesday (our busiest evenings) because I was being more creative on all the other nights.

Staying in Budget

As I meal planned monthly I found I was able to make a more accurate grocery shopping list. I was not longer buying food because we might eat it but because we planned to eat it on a specific day of the week. I was not buying food that would go bad and it reduced my food waste in our house by a lot. 

At the beginning of the month I would plan my meals based off of what foods we had in our house at that time. If we have rice, I made sure it was on the menu. If we have left over chicken or an abundance of potatoes, those foods made it on the monthly menu. Then I would make my shopping list. Going over each meal and making sure I had everything I needed for the entire month on my grocery list. I would brake up the produce into 2 weeks and shop for the second part of the month in another two week to keep fresh produce in the house. 

This planning process kept me from spending money on items that we would not eat. I was also able to plan creative meals using the ingredients we had or that I knew would not be expansive to purchase. Without last minute trips to the local grocery store we have been able to keep our food budget.

How To Meal Plan For A Month

To meal plan for a month may seem daunting. You may be tempted to think you can’t do it because you don’t know what or where you will be on 3 Friday’s from now. Or you might have had a hard time thinking of 7 different meals how am I going to think of 30? 

Here are my 3 tips for for successful meal planing. Plan by base ingredients, create a master list of family favorite meals, meal plan with ingredients you already have.

Plan your meals by base ingredients

The base ingredients are the foundation of your meal. Just to name a few… pasta, rice, potatoes, chicken, fish, ground beef… You can make many different recipes with these bases. For each day of the week I choose a base. (Your list may look different with a lot more meat, we eat mostly vegetarian in our house)

• Mondays – potatoes or soups
• Tuesday – Rice and beans (Taco Tuesday)
• Wednesday – Picnic sandwiches (we don’t eat at home on Wednesdays)
• Thursday – Rice and fish
• Friday – Salads and meat
• Saturday – Random/special meals

Again, I do not stick to this perfectly, I am not a slave to this list. I mix things around all the time but this weekly base ingredient list gives me something to work off of if I can’t think of anything else to make.

Here an example of meals that go with each category or base ingredient.

• Potatoes – Baked potatoes with baked beans and cornbread, Mashed Potatoes with lentil stew, Shepherds Pie, Potato soup…
• Rice and Beans – Tacos, burritos, nachos, bean bowls…
• Rice and Fish – Shrimp stir fry, shrimp scampi, shrimp saganaki (greek dish), balsamic glazed salmon, honey mustard salmon, crispy fried cod…
• Big Salads and Meat – Taco salad, greek salad with lamb or chicken, Italian salad with pizza or chicken, sweet broccoli salad with stake…
• Pasta – Lasagna, spaghetti and meat balls, alfredo, pesto, pasta salad, lemon pasta…

I hope these lists help you see how you can take base ingredients and think of many different meals to eat throughout the month. Keeping it simple with lots of verity.

You can also make a goal is to choose a protein, vegetable and starch/grain for each meal. 

Proteins 

• Meat
• Eggs
• Fish
• Beans

Vegetables

• Broccoli
• Salad
• Green beans…

Starch/Grains

• Breads
• Pasta
• Rice or quinoa
• Potatoes
• Sweet Potatoes 

Add one of each of these three food categories to each day and you will have a healthy meal plan.
examples:
Chicken – rice – roasted broccoli and cauliflower
Pot Roast- Potatoes – Carrots
Ground Beef – pasta – Salad

Create a list of family favorite meals

When meal planning for your whole family its always helps to know what everyone likes to eat. Another list that might be helpful is of what your family does not like. How to you find out your family’s preferences? Ask. When you sit down the meal plan ask your husband and kids what they would like to each this month. Fit their meal ideas in where they make since to you. If you have younger kids who only want pancakes and chicken nuggets for dinner, you can also take note on which meals they finished and what meals are a struggle to finish. If they ask for seconds, its a keeper. 

Here is a list you can download for free of lots of different meal options. Keep this list near your meal planner or on the refrigerator to help you when planning out the month. Once you’ve tried a meal and you notice your kids love it or hate it, rate it on your list. Give it a star, or cross it out. This way the next month you will be able to remember how to bring meals to the table the whole family can enjoy.

Meal plan According To The Ingredients you have

To help you save money, cut down on food waste and get the idea’s flowing for meals, look not to Pinterest, but in your cabinets, refrigerator and freezer to see what you can make with what you have first. Check the back of your freezer, find that bag of frozen green beans or that can of kidney beans that’s been in the pantry for months. Minestrone Soup, perfect, you can use both the green beans and kidney beans in that recipe. 

I’m all about stocking up on bulk items to save money and be prepared. But when you stock up, don’t make the mistake of not using those items. Continue to use what is on your shelf now instead of always buying more just to make what sounds good in the moment.

What happens if my schedule changes?

Its true, we often don’t know everything about our social calendar a month in advance. But planning meals that far in advance is not a hindrance but a help. 

When you plan meals for the whole month we can first look at the family calendar and see what days we know will will be gone for most of the day. There are times when I know we will be out doing one thing or another. So I either plan to meal prep the day before, plan to make extra of something earlier on in the week to eat leftover that day, or plan a slow cooker or crackpot meal. 

But, when something comes up unexpected and your planned meal won’t work for you that specific day, you can trade it with another day’s meal. I first ask myself, “can I make this in the crackpot?” If the answer is “no” I find another meal that is on my plan, that I already have the ingredients for, that will work in the crock pot. 

Another trick I use is to have extra pasta and sauce in my pantry for days when I was unable to make anything in time or when my husband has to make dinner. Quick meals like that, not on your meal plan, is great to have in your pantry when your in a pinch. 

Don’t be a slave to your meal plan. We plan ahead so we have freedom, not bondage to the plan.

Free Meal Planning Templates

Now that you know the benefits of monthly meal planning its time to get organized. Personally I like to use a calendar for my meal planning. I keep it on the side of our refrigerator so everyone can see what’s for dinner. This is super helpful for my husband as he sometimes gets nervous when it looks like I’m making a super healthy meal. He gets to look at the menu and see although we are having lentils today we will be having pizza tomorrow and he has hope. 

Some people keep a binder with their grocery list and chores list in, some people just write out a list on a scrap paper and keep it in the kitchen while other keep the list on their phones. There’s no right or wrong on your own organization preferences. As long as it helps you.

What you must do is write out your full plan. Again, start with whats in your cabinets now, using the base ingredients to come up with a variety of recipes. Don’t be afraid to repeat recipes on a specific day of the week. Pick days you know you will be home all day to try new recipes. Then finally make your grocery shopping list that revolves around your planned menu.

With that being said here are few free printable templates that you might like.

Edit For Yourself in Canva

Monthly Meal Planning List Layout

2025 Monthly Calendar

2025 Monthly Calendar Lined

175+ Meal Planning Dinner Ideas

Ready To Print!

Meal Planning Monthly List

2025 Monthly Calendar

2025 Monthly Calendar Lined

175+ Meal Planning Dinner Ideas

More meal planning tips and tricks

I know I didn’t cover everything on the subject of meal planning so comment below if there more tips or ticks to meal planning that my readers could benefit from. I would love to hear from you all the success you have had in your own meal planning.

The post How to Meal Plan for a Month – Save Money with Simple Meals appeared first on Embracing The Home.

I’m so thankful for grocery stores always having produce like, bananas, apples and spinach year round. My kids always have their favorite fruit to snack on, I can get fresh greens for a healthy salad or smoothie and I can pickup ingredients and produce for just about any recipe I may need, any time of the year, I am so blessed.

But… about two years ago I found on Facebook a lady near me who was selling and delivering local Produce Boxes. It was the height of summer and the melons, berries, tomatoes in her boxes where all so fresh and delicious! I couldn’t resist and got on her regular bi-weekly deliveries. That summer our home was filled with wonderful fresh produce.

A Change In Seasons

As fall and winter approached the contents of the boxes started to change. No more melons, or berries, or stone fruit but lots of butternut squash, walnuts (with the shell), potatoes, carrots, onions, apples… the fall and winter crops. I loved the new items but there was some foods I just didn’t know what to do with. It was no longer filled with easy snack fruit for my kids but vegetables that I had to find recipes for so we could cook and eat them.

This ended up being a blessing in disguise. Some food went to waste at first, because I just didn’t know what to do with them. On the other hand new foods became our new favorites. I didn’t know one of my husbands favorite soups was butternut squash soup until we had an abundance of butternut squash. My kids love raw broccoli and will grab the whole head before I can get the produce box into the kitchen. Walnuts, with the shell, became a great activity for my kids to learn that food, takes work. I’ve learned to cook seasonally.

A Better Life

The grocery store has everything I need for any recipe I want to make. Yet, I found I was still limiting myself by buying the same ingredients for the same recipes every time I went to the store. Having seasonal fruits and vegetables delivered to my door made me cook with fresh foods. In turn, expanding my recipe box and giving me the opportunity to learn new things. Eating seasonally has truly enriched our lives.

The post How I Started Cooking with Fresh Seasonal Produce appeared first on Embracing The Home.