To clean all the dry burnt food out I had to take the whole top off. This was not hard, it is made to come off for cleaning. Once it was off I was able to see how bad it truly was.

Natural Cleaning (no harsh chemicals)

I do not keep a lot of chemical based cleaning products in my house and I am a great advocate for warm water and a little soup. With a little patience you will find the warm water and a little soup cleans very well. Patience is the key.

Often the ads are showing how quickly you can get your stains and scrum off with a little spray of this beautiful foaming, fragrant, cancer in a bottle. I believe they work wonders and work quickly. The chemical based cleaners will eat away at the scrum to loosen it for an easy wipe down. Warm water will take long as it softens without breaking down the scrum off your stove. It takes more time but often is just as easy to wipe down.

Lemon Vinegar Cleaner

My go-to all purpose, all natural cleaner is my homemade lemon vinegar cleaner. Cleaning with natural products in our home is important. I want to embrace my home and family with healthy living by protecting them from harmful germs and bacteria as well as harsh chemical.

I did not use my lemon vinegar cleaner till the end of this cleaning although I’m sure it would have worked well if I had. The acid in the vinegar and lemon would have helped deteriorate the muck off my stove a little faster, not as fast as some other chemical cleans but probably a little fast then just water.

Learn how to make your own lemon vinegar cleaner here.

Products I Used To Deep Clean

• Warm water
• A little soup
• Bowl
• Rag
• Dish scraper
• Soft bristle brush
• Soft bristle toothbrush
• Lemon vinegar cleaner

I didn’t use much cleaning products and this made for a very simple cleaning.

Step By Step, How To Deep Clean

Step One: Water

Get any loose food off the surface. After that, take your warm soupy water and a rag and gently get everything wet. Do not dry, get it all water. Let water sit on the really dirty parts. If the water is not staying where you need it set the soaking wet rag on that spot and leave it there for 5 minutes. This will keep the water were the rag is.

Step Two: Scrape

Once everything is soft from the water soak it up and ring out your towel till most of the water is up. This way you don’t make a splashy mess. Take your scraper and gently scrape the needed areas. If it is too hard and not coming off, use more water for longer. 5-10 minutes more.

As you can see the underneath of this stove was so gross that I got another bowl to clean my scraper off into. There was a lot of build up.

Step Three: Brush

Once the majority of the crud is scraped off use your soft bristle brush to get more detailed closer cleaning. You may need to wipe down with your rag and fresh clean water a few times.

Use a toothbrush to get into or around some even smaller parts if needed.

Step Four: Wipe Down

Use your rag and fresh clean soupy water to do the final wipe down. At this time I might also use an all purpose cleaning to disinfect and get more of the unnoticeable germs away.

Step Five: Repeat

Repeat any steps that are needed as many times as need to get your realistic desired results.

Progress Over Perfection

The top is stained and scratched from my younger years of still learning how to care for my stove top. I clean it now with progress and not perfection in mind.

When cleaning anything you might have an unrealistic expectation to clean everything till it looks brand new. This is a dangerous way to think. My stove top is used daily. If I expect it to look new all the time I am going to be greatly disappointed and stressed that I’m not living to my expectations.

It is important to me to keep things clean. I feel more comfortable and less stressed in a clean environment. With four kids and cooking everything we eat from scratch, its possible to let the untidiness and used look of our house overwhelm me. But that is no way to live.

I want to embrace my home as it without being irresponsible with what I have. I want to keep my stove clean and usable with realistic exceptions of the outcome. When I can’t easily clean off stains I leave them. I embrace the used looked remember how delicious the pasta sauce or chicken tacos are that make the mess in the first place.

My motto is progress over perfection. If my home is cleaner in the evening they it was in the morning I have had great success. It may still need a lot of work, but progress has been made. If my stove is cleaner after I work on it then I have succeeded, even if I didn’t get it back to looking like new.

The post Deep Cleaning Gas Stove appeared first on Embracing The Home.

Are Chemical Cleaners Bad?

YES!!! VERY BAD! …okay, maybe I’m overreacting… Let me just say right now, I have Bleach and Comet (Natural version here) and even Windex in my house right now that I use. Now, you are not going to keel over and die from them as your spray your window to clean it. With the chemical store-bought cleaners the danger is in long term exposure. 

Lets use bleach for example. Breathing in bleach fumes irritates your lungs. Sometimes while cleaning with bleach you might cough a little, feel a burning in your noes or throat… that is the chemicals burning your lungs. The feeling might goes away with a drink of water or some fresh air but that doesn’t mean there’s no damage. Healing is needed. Breathing in bleach everyday keeps the healing from happening. The more chemical burn your experience the longer its going to take to heal. Then you get a cold… and your lungs struggle. The coughing hurts, it turns in to bronchitis and then it goes crazy and you have lung cancer. It’s the constant damage, without healing that causing tissue and cell damage. To learn more read “Is Breathing in Bleach Bad?“

Yes, I keep these bad cancer causing chemical cleaners in my house. No, I do not use them daily, or even weekly. My daily and weekly cleaning needs are met with all natural cleaning products.

Benefits of Lemon Vinegar Cleaner

Lemon Vinegar Cleaner is Natural

Both lemon and vinegar are natural products that you can literally consume. Not just are they edible but good for you! Although, I do not recommend drinking this cleaner, that would be gross. There are also different types of vinegar, and some are better to consuming over others. The best vinegar to use when cleaning is called cleaning vinegars. You could also use distilled vinegar or white vinegar. Apple cider vinegar, or cooking vinegar is not recommended for cleaning.
When you clean with lemon and vinegar you are not breathing anything harmful into your body. Nor will this citrus vinegar cleaner irritate your skin with like other store-bought cleaners can.

Lemon Vinegar Cleaner is Cheap

Another added benefit is that making your own cleaning products is so much cheaper. Like by a lot. 

Lets do some math…
1/4 gallon, Lysol All-Purpose Cleaner, Sanitizing and Disinfecting Spray, Lemon Breeze Scent, 32oz – $2.58
2.5 gallons, Homemade Lemon Vinegar All-Purpose Cleaner – Lemons free from my tree, Cleaning Vinegar 64oz – $2.62

So right there the vinegar is about 1/2 the price of the cleaner. But don’t forget, we are going to dilute the vinegar with water. The directions on the Cleaning Vinegar bottle say 1/2 cup vinegar to a gallon of water. With that math you can get 8 gallons of cleaner for lesson than $5 (depending on if you need to buy lemons or not). The Lysol cleaning is $2.28 for a quarter of a gallon.

Myself I don’t dilute the vinegar that much. I do a 2:1 ratio of water and vinegar. This gets me about 2.5 gallons of homemade vinegar cleaner for the cost of 1/2 gallon (64oz) of vinegar. That’s 10 times the amount of the Lysol bottle. To buy 2.5 gallons (320oz) of Lysol that would cost about $40.

So yeah, its cheap.

Lemon Vinegar Cleaner is a Antibacterial

Lemons and vinegar are both acidic creating a hostile environment for bacteria making them inactive but not always killing the germs… There’s a lot of different thoughts on this. We are all taught and know that there are good germ and bad germs but its not always easy to know when to kill germs and when to embrace them. This cleaner is simply a cleaner, not a disinfectant, but it still has antibacterial properties. Disinfectants kills all germs both good and bad. Cleaners remove dirt, debris, grime and germs, making some germs inactive but does not kill them. Cleaners make it so germs don’t grow. 

If you want to make your vinegar cleaner a disinfectant you can add rubbing alcohol.

How to Make Lemon Vinegar Cleaner

Step 1: Juice Your Lemons

For the cleaner we only need the lemon rind (peel). So juice your lemons and make some lemonade! If you are interested in more things to do with your lemon juice, I have more idea’s here.

Step 2: Place Lemon Peels in Jar

After you have juice you lemons, take all the lemon rinds and put them in a quart or 1/2 gallon size jar.

Step 3: Fill Jar With Vinegar

Fill the jar up with vinegar to the top. You want all the lemons rinds to be fully covered.

Step 4: Wait 2 Weeks

Seal the jar with a lid and let the lemons and vinegar sit for two week before using.

Step 5: Dilute with Water in Spray Bottle

Once all the oils have released from the lemons the vinegar is ready to use. Pour Into a spray bottle 1/3 full. Fill it the rest of the way with water. Use a strainer when pouring just in case any little lemon pieces get in and clog the spray bottle. Now you are ready to clean!

FAQ

Can I use any vinegar to clean with?

There are lots of different types of vinegar and not all of them are ideal for cleaning. Cleaning Vinegar, or distilled white vinegar are you two best vinegar for cleaning. I personally wouldn’t use Apple Cider Vinegar, or Rice Vinegar, or any other cooking vinegar for cleaning with.

What types of lemons are best?

Any type of lemon works for cleaning. I have a Meyer lemon tree and although the rinds are thinner and the lemon less acidic then most it still cleans great. Meyer, Citron, Eureka they all work the same.

Can I use other Citrus in place of lemon?

Yes! You can use any type of citrus peels, orange peel, lime peels, and even grapefruit peel for you natural cleaners. 

Can I use essential Oils in place of citrus rinds?

Yes! You can use any citrus essential oils instead of socking the rinds in the vinegar. Use 10 to 15 drops of essential oils in your 1/2 cup vinegar and 2 cups water in a reusable glass spray bottle. Here are more essential oil cleaner recipes.

Do I need a glass all purpose cleaning spray bottle or can I use plastic?

No, you don’t have to use a glass spray bottle for your lemon vinegar cleaner but I do recommend it. The vinegar and acid from the lemon will brake down the plastics over time. If you use essential oils in your cleaner be sure to use a reusable glass spray bottle, or the power of the essential oil will absorb into the plastic.

Can I add soap to a vinegar cleaner? 

Yes, Castile soap is a great way to boast the cleaning power of your homemade lemon cleaner. Just add a tablespoon of Castile soap to your spray bottle and remember to mix/shake your own cleaning spray bottle before use.

What can I NOT clean vinegar with?

Vinegar is an all purpose cleaner but there are a few things to avoid cleaning with vinegar.

• Natural Stone. The acid in the vinegar can cause pitting in natural stones like Marble or Granite.
• Grout. Vinegar can cause deterioration of grout.
• Stainless Steal. Again, the vinegar can cause pitting the the steal.
• Waxed or unfinished wood should not have full strength vinegar but diluted is fine. The vinegar can cause discoloration if full strength.
• Cast Iron. Again, the vinegar can cause pitting.
• TV’s, Computers or other screen as the vinegar will take off the anti glare coating.
• Rubber. Rubber with lots of exposure to vinegar will start to deteriorate. A little here and there wont hurt it too badly.
• Hardwood Floors. Vinegar can dissolve the finish on the hardwood. For hardwood I suggest Murphy’s Oil Soup

What is safe to clean with vinegar?

• Glass, windows and mirrors. Mix a little rubbing alcohol for with the vinegar and you will get a quick dry, streak free cleaning.
• Toilet. For a deep clean you can put 2 cup of vinegar in your toilet and let sit for 2-3 hours. Clean with a toilet brush to help remove/prevent hard water lines and odor. Dust some baking soda on the floor around the toilet and let sit for 20 minutes or longer spray with your vinegar cleaner let it bubble and do its work then wipe up.
• Bath/Showers. Your vinegar helps prevent and remove watermarks as well as preventing mildew. Use your cleaner for weekly wiping down of your shower and bathtubs. For deeper cleaning use undiluted vinegar.
• Faucets. If you have hard water cleaning your faucets with vinegar is almost a must. The hard water build up can ruin your new faucets and daily or weekly cleaning with vinegar can prevent hard water build up to keep your
• Floor. Except hardwood floors or waxed floors. All other floors are safe for cleaning with vinegar.
• Dishwasher. Again, keep your dishwasher safe from hard water build up and crud with vinegar.
• Appliances. Microwave, stove tops, oven, refrigerator etc, vinegar is a great cleaner for these appliances. I also have such a peace of mind cleaning around my food with a safe, natural cleaner.
• Laundry. Deodorize your clothes, sheets, rags by washing your laundry with vinegar. Just be sure to not mix bleach and vinegar in the same load.
• Coffeemakers. Run equal parts of vinegar and water through your coffee maker for a good cleaning.
• Wood. If you want to clean natural wood with vinegar add an equal part of olive oil to your vinegar.
• Carpets and Upholstery. Spot clean you carpets with with vinegar. The profession carpet cleaner we use at our church told me to use vinegar for coffee spill and hot water and dish soup for sugar based spills (soda, lemonade).

Homemade Lemon Vinegar All-Purpose Cleaner

Print

Materials

• Lemon Rind/Peels
• Cleaning Vinegar

Tools

• Glass Jar with Lid
• Spray Bottle

Instructions

1. Juice your lemons and place the peel in a 2 quart or 1/2 gallon jar.
2. Fill the jar with cleaning vinegar covering the lemons.
3. Let sit for 2 weeks on the counter, top of the refrigerator, under the sink. Anywhere safe.
4. Combine a ratio of 1 part lemon vinegar to 3 parts water into a spray bottle and start cleaning!

All Purpose Cleaner

• 3:1 Water & Lemon Vinegar

Disinfectant Vinegar Cleaner

• 1:1 Ratio Water, Lemon Vinegar & Rubbing Alcohol

Wood Cleaner

• 1:1 Ratio Olive Oil & Lemon Vinegar

The post How To Make Lemon Vinegar All Purpose Cleaner appeared first on Embracing The Home.

Embracing Peace, Not Overwhelm

Keeping my kitchen cabinets organized is not always easy but so very rewarding. In my kitchen I have few cabinets and little counter space. With a space things can pile up really quickly. Cleaning up after every meal or cooking time in the kitchen is necessary which leads to tip number 1.

Tip number 1: The One Touch Rule

The One Touch Rule is once you’ve touch something you put all the way away the first time you touch it. Don’t create little piles to be put away at a later time. Wash that one dish right away to avoid fifty dishes to wash later on. Put the toys all the way away, the rags to the laundry basket not a pile on the floor…etc. These are real life tasks that I struggle with finishing. So I remind myself, “one touch” and finish the little task it keeps things from building up and causing stress and overwhelm.

Imagine you have a list of all the things you need to put away and every time you pick something up you put it in another spot closer to where it should go so that its “easier” to put it away later. You will never be able to actually check anything off the list because every time you pick something up you aren’t actually putting it away you are just reorganizing your mess but never cleaning it up.

Now don’t get me wrong, sometimes we do need to organize and sort through the mess. Like when my kids dump the Lego’s, cars, play food, and blocks all out in the living room floor. In that case sitting down with the kids and sorting through the toys is a great method of cleaning.

The One Touch Rule applies when I’m washing dishes and one of my daughters toy dishes appears in the sink. I wash it, dry it, and put it away in the toy box right away. Now I’m tempted to put the clean toy on the edge of the counter thinking I’ll put away later… but then I forget… I think I wont but I do. Now her toys are sill in my kitchen, I’m running late, I making dinner and I need to stay focused on the meal… So I toss it into the living room, still not putting it away… teaching my kids its okay to just throw toys in another room in order to say that you “cleaned up”. The one touch rule saves me from this cycle.

Tip Number 2: Keep The Sink Empty

This rule is huge for me. Not having a dishwasher I wash all our dishes by hand in the sink. I like washing dishes and I’ve never cared to have a dishwasher. The one thing I hate is when my kitchen sink is so full of dishes that I can’t wash the one pot or bowl or knife that I need. To get what I need I first have to empty the sink so I can wash the one bowl.

There are two things to keep this from happening. 1, wash dirty dishes right away with the one touch rule. 2, Place dirty dishes on counter not inside the sink. Washing dishes right away keeps them from piling up. Setting dirty dishes on the counter for later make it so the sink is always available a quick wash.

If you do have a dishwasher I suggest you never put dirty dishes in the sink or counter. Rinse and place them in the dishwasher right away, even if you are not turning it on till the end of the day. Don’t make a habit of creating piles in your kitchen to do later. This will just cause stress at the end of the day over all the thing you’ve saved for yourself to do. Finishing the little tasks throughout the day for simpler living and avoid the overwhelm and stress.

Tip Number 3: Relationships Over Cleanliness

When the kids are crying, the house is messy, food is burning on the stove, we moms sometimes get stuck. Unable to focus and we don’t know what to do next. Trying to focus in we get frustrated with all the distraction and interruption. Instead of focusing in, broaden your view.

Remember relationships are more important than the cleanliness of the home. Your relationship with your husband and kids is more important than a clean house. Broaden your view, look for ways to build up your relationships instead of focusing on the chores. Focus on relationships over tasks. If the kids are upset, love on them. When your husbands is coming home from work and the house is a mess and your hair is a mess. Brush your hair first. He wants to look at you, not the house.

When focused on building up your relationships within your family you can then decided on what tasks are most important. Cleaning the same thing over and over again can get discouraging. But when we have the right mindset and motivation we can love and serve others selflessly. The chores become acts of love, giving us joy and purpose in doing them.

Tip Number 4: Declutter Often

Every couple months I like to go through a drawer or cabinet and clean it out. Throw away any junk, reevaluate if any of the items in the back of the drawer or that mug in the back of the cabinet is actually worth keeping. I don’t get rid of everything but consider what works and what doesn’t for your house using wisdom. I encourage you go through the whole kitchen at once (unless necessary) but one or two drawers or cabinets a month. Making it a quick job of it, maybe 30 minutes of decluttering and deep cleaning that area of the kitchen. Rather than a days worth of going over every cabinet, nook and cranny of the kitchen in one full swoop.

Keeping the clutter down by going through my kitchen often keeps me from wasting my limit storage space. We have a cabinet that is deep with a narrow door so its hard to see and reach items in the back. For the longest time I stored tea cups and small items in this cabinet. This week, as I cleaning it out I realized I never use my pretty cups and plates. So I switch things up a bit. I moved my pie dishes into the small cabinet and the tea cups and pretty items to a more convenient shelf. The pie dishes take up the whole shelf leaving no room for little things to be hidden. It’s perfect! I only need the pie dishes when I make pie and I now I have the opportunity to use the pretty plates and tea cups when ever I want.

Tip Number 5: Romance The Ordinary

Keeping my cabinets clean and organized doesn’t just improve the function of my kitchen but adds beauty and peace, it adds romance. It brought me joy to move my tea cups to a cabinet they can be seen in and easily accessed. Eating a simple snack of almonds or a rice cake off of a pretty plate energizes and fills me up so much more than eating off a paper plate. It feel romantic to eat and serve your family in a beautiful way. The going above and beyond to make something beautiful for someone is a way of showing love.

Whenever I bring flowers in the the home or make eye catching meals my kids get excited! They enjoy beauty even at a young age. My son is always asking to pick flowers to have on the kitchen table. I have to remind him that we can’t have flowers and decoration around if the table is going to be messy. We first need to clean the sticky oatmeal or dinner dishes or arts and crafts off the table and then add the beautifying elements.

I love adding the romantic beautiful elements to my home but they are only effective with a clean house. So first we clean, we keep up on the clutter and do our do diligence. Have you ever notice all the pretty inspirational photos of kitchens on Pinterest are clean? Clean the kitchen and then add beauty. Creating inspiration for your family to see and enjoy.

In Summery

I hope you are encouraged and ready to embrace the kitchen with all its messes. I hope you are able to embracing cleaning consistently with love and service towards your family. Remember the “One Touch Rule” and simplify your cleaning with habits that benefit your whole home. Declutter often and save things that bring joy not stress. Embracing your family with beauty for them to be around, romance the ordinary. Keep your mind on what’s most important, your family. Build up your family with love as you create a clean and peaceful home for them.

Please share in the comments some encouragement that you have found helpful when it comes to keeping your kitchen/house clean. Sharing can be so powerful and you never know who you might be able to help with a encouraging comment.

The post How to Keep Your Kitchen Clean appeared first on Embracing The Home.

There are two key features that I want to note that make a vegan chili good. Flavor and Texture. Without meat both of these features can lack without paying special attention to your recipe.

Good Flavor is Number 1

Without the flavor that comes from meat we rely heavy on the seasoning for good flavor. To insure depth of flavor I make sure I have plenty of chili powder, paprika, cumin, salt & pepper as well as jalapeno, garlic, thyme, oregano and molasses.

For spice I have chili powder, paprika cumin, black pepper, and jalapeno. Each of these add little different level of spice and heat. The jalapeno being the hottest and the cumin more earthy and sweet. Each spice added a different type of spice and flavor.

Garlic, thyme, and oregano don’t add a whole lot of spice but they do add another layer of more earthy and warm, savory flavor. Adding herbs like this add much needed flavor to a vegan dish.

Molasses is such a powerful tool when it comes to flavor in the kitchen and also has great nutrition value. Molasses is described in so many different ways, sweet, bitter, savory, spicy, smoky, earthy, caramely, robust. How ever you want to describe this rich syrup is fine with me. Just know this, it adds so much depth to your chili and if you skip this 1 ingredient you will be missing out for sure.
To read more about molasses check out “Benefits of Blackstrap Molassess”.

Good Chili Needs the Right Texture

Dice your vegetables very small. The smaller the better in my opinion. I want the texture to be thick and hearty. I don’t want each bite featuring a 1 single vegetable like I would do in a vegetable broth soup.

Once all your ingredients are cooked and mixed together I also use my potato masher and mash up the chili a little to get a thicker more consistent texture. You can also use an immersion blender or take out a two cups and blend in the blender to create a thicker consistency. Just remember we are not trying to make a creamy soup. We just want to break up a few of the beans to release their natural starches to thicken up the excess liquids as your chili simmers. I find the potato masher works perfect for this job.

I simmer my chili for 30 minutes with the lid on but if your chili has a lot of excess liquids and its not thickening up the way you would like it. Simmer for another 10 minutes with the lid off.

Vegan Chili Ingredients

Beans

You can really use any beans you like, in the pictures you will notice I only used pinto bean but that’s actually quite rare for me. My 3 favorite bean to mix together for the recipe are pinto beans, black bean and kidney beans. I add 5 cups of bean or 3, 15 oz cans. One can of each bean works great.

I use dry beans most of the time. To convert dry beans measurement to cooked bean measurements remember 1/2 cup dry beans equals about 1 1/2 cups cooked beans equaling about 1, 15 oz can of beans. So to make this recipe with dry beans you will need 1 1/2 cups dry bean. 1/2 cup of each bean works great but you can choose any ratio you like.

Vegetables

Onions, mushrooms, bell pepper and a jalapeno are my 4 must haves for this recipe. I also often add carrots and zucchini or squash depending on what I have around. You can also add vegetables like corn or okra or sweet potato. Be creative with the vegetable you like. If carrots are two sweet for you taste when it comes to chili then leave them out or only add one carrot instead of three. You can also add more peppers like banana peppers or poblano peppers would be really good. Add the vegetables that you enjoy.

Petite Diced Tomatoes

Petite diced are my favorite tomatoes for chili. The normal diced is just to chunky for me, again I like everything to be diced small. The crushed tomato also work well. If all you have is normal diced tomatoes or whole tomatoes you can strain the juice into your pot and cut the tomatoes smaller or pulse in the blender a few times but don’t blend them into a sauce. You can also use fresh tomatoes if you have them. You will need 3 cups diced fresh tomatoes.

Spices and Herbs

This recipe calls for chili powder, paprika, cumin, salt and pepper, oregano, thyme, and fresh garlic (or garlic powder). Using both spices and herbs creates more layers and depth of flavor. If you don’t have all these individual spices and you like to buy blends then you could to something like 2 tables taco seasoning and 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning if that’s what you have. I’ve personally never tried that exact combination but I do tend to experiment with my seasoning a lot. If you are missing a spice or herb try to replace it with something similar so you don’t lose out on a layer of flavor.

Molasses

Molasses is so full of flavor you don’t need a lot to add nice rich layer to your chili. I use blackstrap molasses. You can use a light molasses or Grandma’s Molasses, those are easier to find in the stores but blackstrap has a higher concentrate of nutrients in each tablespoon. Blackstrap also has a bit more flavor to it. I use 2-3 tablespoons blackstrap, if you use a lighter molasses I would do 3-4 tablespoons.
To read more about how molasses is made and the difference between the different type check out “How to Make Brown Sugar” or “Benefits of Blackstrap Molasses“

Toppings (optional)

Avocado, sour cream or plain greek yogurt, cheese, red onions, cilantro, limes, or cornbread. Your choice! My kids like greek yogurt and cheese, while my husband like cheese and cornbread, and I prefer avocados, cilantro and limes. Dec out your chili how ever you like or just eat it as is. It can holds it own.

How to Make Vegan Chili

1. If you are using dry beans, soak and cook those first.
   
2. Dice your onion and saute those first in a large pot. You can use a little oil if you like, I have found it unnecessary and usually don’t add oil.
   
3. Dice you bell pepper, fresh garlic, mushrooms and jalapeno and any other vegetables you choose to add. Don’t forget to peel items like carrots and sweet potatoes… etc.
   
4. Add the vegetables as you dice them into the pot and continue to mix as you chop and cook.
   
5. Add spices and herbs, mix in.
   
6. Add tomatoes, mix in.
   
7. Add molasses, mix in.
   
8. Add bean, mix in.
   
9. Mash with a potato masher to break up some of the beans to release their natural starches and thicken the juices and liquids in the chili.
   
10. Cover with a lid and let it simmer on low for 30 minutes. If your chili still has too much liquid, simmer for another 10 minutes with the lid off.

Its pretty easy and straight forward and always turns out so delicious!

TIP: How To Get The Seeds Out of A Jalapeno

If you like more heat you can leave the seeds and core in the jalapeno but in order to make this a little more kid friendly I take them out.

Vegan Chili with Molasses

Yield: 4-6 Servings

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 30 minutes

Total Time: 45 minutes

Print

Ingredients

• 1, 15oz can pinto beans
• 1, 15oz can black beans
• 1, 15oz can kidney beans
• (OR 1 1/2 cups dry beans making about 4.5-5 cups cooked beans)
• 2, 15oz cans petite diced tomatoes
• 1 medium onion
• 1 bell pepper
• 2 cups frozen mushroom (or 1 1/2 cups fresh mushrooms)
• 1 jalapeno
• 2 cloves garlic (or 2/3 teaspoon garlic powder)
• 2-3 tablespoons blackstrap molasses
• 2 teaspoons chili pepper
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon thyme
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 2-3 carrots (optional)
• 1-2 squash or zucchini (optional)
• Other vegetables you like (optional)

Instructions

1. If using dry beans, soak and cook them first.
2. Dice your onion and saute those first in a large pot. You can use a little oil if you like, I have found it unnecessary and usually don’t add oil.
3. Dice you bell pepper, fresh garlic, mushrooms and jalapeno and any
   other vegetables you choose to add. Don’t forget to peel items like
   carrots and sweet potatoes… etc.
4. Add the vegetables as you dice them into the pot and continue to mix as you chop and cook.
5. Add spices and herbs, tomatoes, molasses, and bean, mix together.
6. Mash with a potato masher to break up some of the beans to release
   their natural starches and thicken the juices and liquids in the chili.
7. Cover with a lid and let it simmer on low for 30 minutes. If your
   chili still has too much liquid, simmer for another 10 minutes with the
   lid off.

The post Homemade Vegan Chili with Molasses appeared first on Embracing The Home.

1. The ordering process
2. Delivery/pickup process
3. Their food quality
4. Price comparison to Walmart

A few things to note about Azure Standard before we get into the review.

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

Although Azure Standard is known and believes in the benefit of organic foods they do have some non organic products. And although they are known for their bulk quantity they also offer smaller or regular sized quantities for their products. Flour for example, their organic all purpose flour has size options of 30oz, 5lbs, 10lbs and 25lbs.

The Ordering Process

How Azure Standards ordering process works is actually very simple. It works like any other online store, you search for items, add to cart, and check out. You can search by category, sale, or even by your previous orders. Then add your items to the cart and check out like you would anywhere else. You do need to have an account, (name, email, password) not unlike many places.

When searching for items Azure will keep track of previously purchased and item and that makes restocking my pantry quick and easy. Another feature I like is that I can add to my order after I’ve completed my order as long as its before the cut off date for shipping. Azure Standard only ships and delivers once a month, so I can add to my order all month long. They will not charge you for anything until it gets shipped out. The flip side of this is that if you forget to complete your order before the cut off date you have to wait a month to get your order. I don’t like when that happens.

Something else that has disappointed me is when I place something in my cart and then when I check out its out of stock. I do believe this is my fault for not completing the order earlier in the month when it is in stock, then adding more as the month goes on if needed. I think I can fix this problem by ordering earlier and not waiting till the last minute.

The Ordering Process Pros and Cons Summary.

• Pro – Easy and simple to navigate.
• Pro – Add Last minute items to your cart

• Con – Forgetting to complete order on time, results in waiting a month to get your goods. (I was 1 hour to late today and I have to wait. I might be more mad at myself…)

Delivery/Pickup Process

Like I mentioned before, Azure Standard delivers once a month to your local delivery drop off location. The location is hosted by a Drop Coordinator, they are often a local from your community who has the space for delivery truck to drive in and out of. On the day of the delivery, the delivery truck driver keeps in contact with the Coordinator on the their ETA and the Coordinator is responsible for letting you know what time you need to be at the drop location for a quick and smooth delivery. So far we have not had any issues with this system at our drop location. Our Coordinator has been great with the reminders and updates on time of arrival and we have always received everything we’ve ordered undamaged.

The Con to this system is that you have to be available at that time. If you couldn’t make it on time you would miss the truck and not receive your order. So far this has not happened to us. I honestly don’t know if our coordinator would be gracious enough to collect our goods for us, or if we would be able to send someone else in time to pick it up. I have heard of other peoples stories of someone forgetting a part of their order so their another azure friend grabbed it for them. I’ve heard that as you wait for the delivery truck you can make friends with those waiting with you and created a great community that helps you out if something goes wrong. Again, I have not experienced anything go wrong yet so I don’t know how it would play out. If I do have a horrible experience at some point I will be sure to update this post.

Delivery/Pickup Process Pros and Cons Summary

• Pro – Great communication
• Pro – Received everything undamaged

• Con – You have to work with their schedule

The Quality of the Foods I’ve Purchased

To be honest, I have loved it all! I’ve ordered a lot of dry goods, baking goods, like rice and beans and flour and baking soda. They have all kept so well in my food grade buckets and I haven’t found any contamination in anything. The only fresh produce that I have gotten has been organic apples that were on sale. I had heard these were hit or miss when it came to freshness but I took the chance and bought 20lbs of apples. There were some rotten apples in the mix but not many. I was warned so I wasn’t disappointed. So I made applesauce with the apples and my kids love it. Yes, I would order them again, but they would still have to be on sale. I have also ordered things like oats, raisins, frozen fruits, butter, elderberry syrup, and rice cakes and more and everything has been delicious and kept well.

Pros and Con for Quality of Foods Summary

• Pro – Stores wonderfully and tastes delicious.

• Con – I’m always nervous the fresh fruit will not be fresh

Price Comparison (to Walmart)

Walmart my not be the best comparison to prices against but we live in a small town and the Super Walmart is kind of all we have here. Walmart is where I shopped before discovering Azure so its what I price check everything from.

Here’s a list of some of my essentials. This will be the price for organic unless otherwise noted. (updated 5/8/25)

• Oats – Azure: 5lbs, $1.65 per lbs | Walmart: GV $3.58 per lbs
• Flour – Azure: 10lbs, $1.32 per lbs | Walmart: King Arthur, 5lbs, $2.32 per lbs
• Raisins – Azure: 5lbs, $3.23 per lbs | Walmart: GV not organic $4.58 per lbs
• Sugar – Azure: 5lbs, $1.57 per lbs | Walmart: GV 4lbs, $1.44 per lbs
• Brown Rice – Azure: 5lbs, $1.88 per lbs | Walmart: Mahatma 2lbs, $2.09 per lbs
• Black Beans – Azure: $1.78 per lbs | Walmart: Not organic $1.76 per lbs
• Rice Cakes – Azure: .55c per oz | Walmart: Not organic .80c per oz
• Peanut Butter – Azure: $7.12 per lbs | Walmart: GV, $4.68 per lbs
• Frozen Fruit (blueberries) – Azure: 5lbs not organic, $2.36 | Walmart: not organic, $2.98

Organic is typically more expensive but it’s something I don’t mind paying for because I do believe it is best. But when shopping with Azure I have not felt like I’m spending a ton more for organic healthy food. In fact, I’m saving money. If you buy the larger, 10lbs or 25lbs with Azure the price does go down as the quantity goes up, so I buy in bulk. I’m very happy with the prices.

I have never experienced any hidden fees, or shipping fee’s. Its actually the opposite, when you purchase certain items you receive Azure Cash Rewards. So when I go to check out often I have about $5 of reward cash I can use based of off my previous purchases.

To Sum Up

I have been very happy with Azure Standard and plan to continue shopping there for the bulk of my needs. The site is easy to navigate, communication on delivery/pickup has been excellent, the quality of food is wonderful and I’ve been saving money.

I highly recommend Azure Standard for anyone looking to purchase high quality, organic foods.

The post Azure Standard Review. Pros, Cons, Price Comparison. appeared first on Embracing The Home.

Where To Buy Bulk Food

Azure Standard is my number 1 place to shop. I love the clean, Non-GMO, organic food they offer. Azure Standard is an online whole food distributor. They skip the middle man and deliver your order to drop off location near you. You pick up on the day and time they deliver. For example, for me they deliver on the 1st Tuesday of every month around 6:00pm. Knowing this allows me to plan out my orders knowing my food needs to last at least a month long. Although most of what I order lasts us 2-3 months, some items, like dry beans, last us 6+ months.

There are other places to shop in bulk like Costco, AllBulkFoods.com, and many more… Each place differs a little on what they carries so you will need to shop according to your needs. I shop Azure for their Non-GMO organic whole foods.

Foods You Can Store In Buckets

• Dry Beans/lentils
• Rice
• Flour
• Oats
• Popcorn
• Sugar/brown/powdered
• Seeds (flax, chia, sunflower, etc)
• Salts and spices
• Pastas
• Even cereals

This list is not exhaustive but the more common items that are stored in buckets. You can store pretty much any pantry food in a food bucket. But just because they are in food grade buckets doesn’t mean they will last longer. Although most items that can be stored in a food bucket can last a good long time. Do you research the shelf life of the foods you want to store and don’t simply believe that because it’s in a food bucket that it will automatically stay good for 30 years.

Food Grade Buckets

Which buckets are safe for storing food? Can I just pick up some $5 buckets from Home Depot or Walmart? Regular $5 buckets are made with releasing agents that can be toxic. They are not ideal for storing food and the FDA advises against it. Luckily food grade buckets are not hard to find and are typically only a few dollars more. To know if your bucket is FDA approved look for the recycle number “1”, “2”, “4” or “5” on the bottom of the bucket.

Where To Buy Food Grade Buckets

You can buy Food Grade Buckets online easily, I like buying them from Azure Standard but you can also find them on Amazon, Home Depot, Tractor Supply, even some Walmart’s. The prices for Food Grade Buckets is typically only a few extra dollars around $6-8 per bucket but it’s the lid that often comes separate and is another $5-7. 

I’ve actually bought most of my buckets from our local donut shop. When we first started buying in bulk it was because we were trying to save money and spend wisely. So buying new 10 buckets with lids at $12 was money I just didn’t have at the time. So I went to my local donut shop and found they sold their used buckets for $2.50 with the lid. Most of their buckets were only 4 gallons and didn’t always fit 25lbs of flour or sugar in one but I worked with it. The goal was to save money while providing my family’s needs and it worked.

TIP: I will advise, when buying from a local restaurant or bakery make sure to avoid putting your flour or sugar in a bucket that had jalapenos, vinegar or something strong smelling in it previously.

Where to Store Your Food Buckets

Keep your buckets in a cool, dry location. You want to keep food buckets out of extreme temperatures. A pantry or closet inside the house is always the ideal temperature but they are often not big enough for your needs. Some  Basements and garages are typically perfectly fine. Sheds and carports are not ideal due to their lack of insulation.

Along with temperature you always need to consider moisture or humidity levels. You want to store your pantry foods in a dry location. Too much moisture can lead to rot, fungus and molds. Often people who store in a cool room or basement will invest in a dehumidifier to insure a safe room for all their goods. If the room you are planning to store in has trouble with moisture this may be something you will want to look into.

I store my bulk foods in my kitchen under my worktable.

Remember there is not one right way to store food for your family while providing for them. But there are multiple wrong ways that might lead to contamination and food waste. Avoid the wrong and be creative with the right ways to fit your family’s needs and enjoy the fruit of your labor.

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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.