Heavenly Homemakers

Encouraging women in homemaking, healthy eating and parenting

Menu Plan for the Week

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I’m posting my menu plan a little bit early this week because I’ve got bunches of posts to get up in the next few days. Sorry that I’ve been bombarding you all weekend! 

So many of you are wanting to know more about some of the things we’ve tried to help our son’s severe eczema and I don’t want to leave you hanging because that’s just not nice. ;) 

So, be watching for more of Our Healthy Eating Journey posts very soon…and in the meantime…here’s what we’ll be eating this week:

Sunday, March 14
Oatmeal, pears
Leg o Lamb, potatoes, carrots, gravy
Alphabet soup , honey whole wheat bread and butter

Monday, March 15
Simple soaked pancakes, blueberries
Pizza Casserole, tossed salad
Meat and cheese Burritos, pineapple-orange slushies

Tuesday, March 16
Scrambled egg sandwiches, oranges
Skillet meatballs with BBQ sauce, ranch potato wedges, carrot sticks
Oven baked chicken, mashed potatoes, gravy, peas

Wednesday, March 17 (Join us for the little Green Project!)
Green smoothies, toast
Black Bean Taco Salad, apples
Spicy avodado dip, corn chips, fruit and kefir smoothies

Thursday, March 18
Mini apple pies, sliced cheese
Cheeseburger macaroni, steamed carrots
BBQ deer tenderloin, rice and veggie stir fry

Friday, March 19
Breakfast burritos, clementines
Grilled cheese, tomato soup, carrot sticks
Homemade pizza, fruit

Saturday, March 20
Whole wheat sourdough biscuits, turkey sausage gravy
Leftover buffet
Beefy vegetable soup, banana muffins

Take note:  In the recipe drop down menu across the top of my site, you’ll notice that I added a GLUTEN FREE page for your convenience!

If you haven’t already, please be sure to sign up for the Prayers of an Excellent Wife book giveaway brought to you by FBS Books! Giveaway will be closed Monday night.

AND, make plans to join us for the little Green Project on Wednesday! Share anything that you’re doing that is green (eating greens, saving green, going green…anything green!)! Read more about the little Green Project here!

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Find more menu planning inspiration at Organizing Junkie.

Heavenly Homemaker's Club Members: Access your homepage and all your fantastic resources here! Not a member yet? Please join us!

Azure Standard: How Does it Work?

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Here’s a little Q & A for you to let you know if it’s possible for you to order from my favorite food co-op, Azure Standard. You can see some samples of my monthly grocery orders here and here. Check out these jars of golden honey…YUM!

What is Azure Standard?

Azure Standard is a food delivery service specializing in offering top notch, organic and natural products. These folks provide my family with amazing organic produce and groceries each month. I am constanly blown away by their prices, especially for organic produce. Usually their organic fruits and vegetables are LESS EXPENSIVE than the non-organic produce I can find at my local grocery stores.  They are SUPER easy to work with and incredibly nice. Read all about Azure Standard and what they stand for here.  Are they awesome or what?

Who does Azure Standard deliver to?

Azure Standard has truck routes delivering to Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Dakota, Utah, Washington and Wyoming! Plus, they are continuing to expand as much as they are able. If you’re from North Texas, read here about how you can encourage a drop point in the DFW area! And, if you’re from any of the above mentioned states, click over to read their delivery schedule specifics. Flip through the pdf file to find your state and see if there’s a drop location near you. If there isn’t one, you may be able to call and set one up. (That’s exactly how I did it a few years ago…I just called and set up a delivery drop point in my town!)

If you are from CO, NM, OK, KS AR, MO, TX, IA, IL, IN, LA, KY, TN, or north west part of MS – you’ll definitely want to click over to Covenant Ranch Trucking to learn about the services they provide for Azure!

Proudly delivering for Azure Standard

If Azure Standard doesn’t have a truck route to my area, can I still order?

Yes! If you are unable to be a part of a co-op/truck delivery route…you can still order (most items) and have them delivered UPS or by mail. They deliver all over the U.S. and the world (if you make special arrangements). Shipping costs may be high, but it’s worth a check.

How often do the trucks deliver?

Azure Standard delivers once each month. I place my order on a Thursday…I pick it up the following Tuesday. (Every route is different, that’s just how it works for me…but talk about instant gratification!)  We all meet our truck in a designated location, unload our boxes and bags (squeal with delight over our pretty fruit and bags of oats), load our vehicles and go home. It all takes about fifteen minutes. Amazing. Here’s a little field trip I took my readers on a few months ago so they could pick up my Azure Standard order with me…

Is there a minimum order?

Yes…if you’re right along the truck route, there is a minimum $550 order…but that’s total, for everyone who is ordering. If you get a few families involved, your minimum is met pretty easily.

Your individual order must also be at least $50. If your order is under that amount, just combine it with a friend.

Their prices for these organic foods are incredible! Are there any hidden fees?

Hidden, no. But some states (like mine) are subject to a delivery fee. I DON’T mind the delivery charge at all. If I didn’t have Azure Standard, I’d have to drive 2 hours one way to get food like this, and then the food prices would be a LOT higher. My delivery charge is less than my fuel cost would be to drive the 2 hours, plus the food costs less. I happily pay the delivery percentage on my order.

Hey, I can’t see the prices on their website! How can I see their prices?

Call them and set up an account. (541-467-2230)  They’ll give you an account number and password, then you can log into their site and see all their prices. You can also fill out the form here to request  a free catalog.

Do I have to order in bulk? I don’t have much storage space.

You can order in bulk, but you can also order small amounts of a product. I love this feature! You can order 50 pounds of oats, or just five pounds. You can order an entire case of organic ketchup, or just one bottle.

Does Azure Standard have a nice selection of gluten free food?

Yes. Click here to see some of their gluten free products…then click around looking for your other favorites.

What am I forgetting here? What other questions do you have about Azure Standard?

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Possible Azure Standard Delivery Route in North Texas!

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I received an email from Shelly (thank you!!) who has been in touch with some of the folks at Azure Standard about a possible delivery route in the DFW area! I’m so happy for all of you!

If you would be interested in having Azure Standard deliver their awesome food to you in North Texas, you need to email penningtonfam at yahoo.com to let them know of your interest. They are trying to see how many people may want to take advantage of their delivery route as they make plans to possibly expand.

If you live in the DFW area, give Dianne Pennington a quick email to say YES PLEASE bring a truck my way! Tell all your friends in the area to do the same!

I promise you will LOVE the benefit of having Azure Standard deliver to you!

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A Bunch of Azure Standard Stuff

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I wanted to give you fair warning. I’m going to be writing a few posts soon explaining the benefits and great aspects of ordering food from Azure Standard.

This information won’t apply to many of you. If Azure Standard doesn’t deliver to your area (and I’ll be listing those areas soon), feel free to nod, smile and click over to a post that means a little more to you and helps you in some way. (Like my Chocolate Chip Brownie recipe, which means a LOT to everyone I’m sure.)

But if Azure Standard DOES deliver to your area, I’m hoping to encourage more of you to take advantage of Azure Standard’s wonderful services if you can. I’ll be posting sales and special features as often as I’m able. Maybe weekly (if they have anything cool in their bargain bin), or just monthly as they update their produce and sales.

Azure Standard isn’t paying me to say all of this (although if they want to, I’d be okay with that). I just LOVE Azure Standard and want to spread the wholesome food love.

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Frugal, Cheap or Poor?

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Heya…just wanted to edit this post to clear up any unintended miscommunication about my use of the word “poor”. I am very sorry if any of you found this offensive. I in NO way want to communicate that I think being poor is a bad thing or that I look down on people who are poor.

The thoughts from this post really just came from the fact that my family has a lot of people in our lives that love us, but don’t always understand our frugal lifestyle. If we aren’t careful about how we communicate our “lack of spending” to people, they take our actions as meaning that we “don’t have enough money” and they feel sorry for us or go buy things for us (things that we were intentionally not buying, not because we don’t have the money but because of choices not to spend). 

Does that makes sense, or did I just make it worse?! ;)

Recently my husband and I were talking about my torn jammies. 

Great conversation piece, huh? 

It’s just that in this post I had mentioned that I *only* had two pairs of jammies and one of them was literally falling apart. So, I finally bit the bullet (yum) and bought a new pair. And then I wrote, “When Malachi saw my new jammies he exclaimed with happiness then asked why I got new ones (cause it’s a big day when anyone gets something new around here).”

This led Matt and me to talk about how that may have sounded.

Does that sound like we’ve been too poor for me to buy new pajamas for myself? Does it sound like buying things we need, like new jammies, is just a far off dream? 

Oh that poor family. Can’t even afford to get new pajamas for the missus.

I really and truly hadn’t bought new jammies for myself because for Pete’s sake, we are a throw-away-society and I don’t feel the need to throw away the old and buy new things until I really, really need them. That’s why I hadn’t bought new jammies for myself.

Do you ever feel like, because you are carefully watching your pennies and working hard not to spend money on things you don’t need, and trying to get a good deal on the things you do need…that you come across to others as looking…poor? Or cheap?

If we aren’t careful, we might come across that way. Are we the poor family with the stay-at-home-mom who has to make all of their food from scratch and cut every one’s hair herself and put her kids in hand me downs and grow a garden? Are we the poor family who can’t afford  family cell phones and frequent eating out and new furniture and new vehicles?

I think it is super important for anyone who is frugal minded to come across to others as people who are happy, cheerful…downright FINE! 

Avoid using the words “can’t afford” or “not enough money for…”. You truly may not be able to afford the subject you’re talking about, but those words portray a “poor me” attitude, literally. That attitude will not encourage others to want to spend wisely…it may instead cause others to feel sorry for you and try to avoid being in the state you’re in.

As we talk with others about what we have or don’t have and about what we do or do not spend our money on…I think it is important for us to share in a way that inspires others to want to be wise with their money also. Share your frugality in a way that sounds exciting and attainable! Say things in a way that lets people know that a frugal lifestyle is in no way boring. 

Saving money, spending wisely, being frugal…it’s a joy! It’s fun! It works!! 

Spread the love!
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This post is linked to Frugal Friday.

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Our Healthy Eating Journey, Part 6

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If you missed them, please catch up on
Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4 and Part 5.

Malachi was about two months old when he suddenly became covered from head to toe with chronic eczema. Ironically all but his diaper area was affected. We immediately took him to our regular doctor, who gave him some sort of cortisone cream and an oral steroid.

The eczema cleared right up. We were so thankful, and we thought his “little rash thing” was all taken care of.

Then about a week later, when the effects of the steroid wore off, the rash came right back, only worse. 

Our baby became miserable.  He was extremely itchy all the time, yet way too little to understand anything that was going on. He could hardly be still in his crib, in his car seat, and sadly, even in our arms. I can’t put into words the helplessness we felt watching our tiny boy feel such misery and not know what we could do to comfort him. 

His jammies and his sheets would have blood spots where he’d rubbed himself raw trying to relieve the itching. His neck became an open wound. His face looked like he’d rolled around in a patch of poison ivy. His arms and legs were a mix of scabs and inflamed red sores.

And he stayed this way for months and months. 

People stared. People asked, “What in the world is all over your baby?” People offered suggestions of help. It seemed to become all people talked to me about and I grew extremely weary.

I remember trying to comfort him in the middle of the night, and just weeping and praying over him, begging God to please give us answers and healing for our baby. 

And I remember that even though it was so painful to watch our baby suffer so much, I was thankful. Thankful that it was “only eczema”. It made me more aware of what a parent might go through as they watch their child suffer from cancer or another major illness.

During the time we were trying to find answers for Malachi, one of my very dear friends was struggling severely and sinking into a deep depression. I had never experienced this kind of depression, nor had I watched a friend feel so much hopelessness. I was amazed by her absolute determination to fight it and find peace. She was desperately seeking answers.

We had yet another friend who had been doing a lot of research on whole body health and nutrition. This concept was foreign to me. But between the eczema and the depression we were all so determined to find answers for, we all began working together to learn and figure out how the food we ate effected our overall health and well-being.

I remember this being both a painful time, and a time of new hope. Could changing the food we ate make that big of a difference in our health? I truly had never though about food in that way. Crazy isn’t it? I never really equated food with nutrition.  Food was just…food.

Not only that, but I was learning about the long term effect of drugs generally prescribed for ezcema. Filling Malachi with steroids and covering his body with cortisone might help in the short term, but his condition was chronic. He only found relief from the eczema when he was on steroids. Did we want to place our baby permanently on steroids?

And so our search continued. It was at this time we discovered the book Nourishing Traditions.

It was also at this time that I landed myself in the hospital for five days because of complications from asthma.

To be continued…

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Gratituesday: Online Community

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It’s finally March, and I could write a 2,000 word blog post about how grateful I am that winter is drawing to a close and spring is right around the muddy little corner.

But, I’ll spare you.

What I will share though is that while the long, cold days of winter can seem never-ending…they have been much more bearable because I never feel completely alone and void of adult conversation.

I may be cooped up in the house with a bunch of kids all day having frequent animated conversations about Darth Vader and Yoda. I may have very few opportunities to be outside getting fresh air. I may have Nerf bullets flying around me and kids launching themselves off the stair case in an effort to burn off wintertime energy.

But I remain sane (relatively speaking of course).

Because I have you.

Through your comments and emails, I am a part of a community that takes me to a warmer climate, a comfortable sofa, a cozy tea party.

The online community I am honored to enjoy with you here has made my winter more bearable. I don’t feel cooped up and alone. 

I feel as though I am surrounded by friends.

I am so very grateful for you.

What are you thankful for this Gratituesday? Write about it on your blog, then come link up with us here. If you don’t have a blog, be sure to leave a comment letting us know what you’re grateful for!

If you are linking up a blog post for Gratituesday,
please copy and paste the following link into your post! Thanks!

Join us for Gratituesday at Heavenly Homemakers!

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Becoming a Better Help Meet: Pray for Your Husband (+ a Giveaway!!)

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Be sure to catch up on the rest of this series here.

Last time, we talked about working hard to make sure our relationship with God is strong and alive so that we can be readily equipped to meet the needs of our husband.

Today, let’s talk about praying for our husbands.

Besides making sure your relationship with God is what it should be, praying for your husband is one of the most important things you can do as his help meet. You may not be able to change anything about your husband. You may not be able to help your husband be successful at his work. You may not be able to make your husband become a stronger spiritual leader.

But God can.

God loves your husband more than you do. God wants your husband to be spiritually minded. God wants your husband to love Him and serve Him. God wants your husband to meet your needs and the needs of your family.

You can talk to your husband about these desires. You can hurt for your husband when he struggles. You can encourage your husband to do more of the things you want him to do. You can beg your husband to become more of the man you want him to be.

But most of the time, you just need to shut-up and pray.

Love your husband. Respect your husband. Take care of your husband’s physical needs. Listen to your husband. Be kind to your husband. 

And pray for your husband.

Pray for his role as a father. Pray for his role as your husband. Pray for his work. Pray for his other relationships. Pray for his struggles. Pray for his weaknesses. Pray for his strengths. Pray for his spiritual growth. 

The prayer of a righteous [wo]man is powerful and effective.  (Read James 5:13-18.)
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Going right along with this idea of praying for our husbands…Taraleigh of FBS Books (take note of her sponsorship button on my sidebar) is offering to give away one of the books from her shop, Prayers of an Excellent Wife. 

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Prayers of an Excellent Wife appears to be a fantastic resource to help us learn the art of praying for our husbands consistently, faithfully and according to scripture.

I’d like to encourage you to take a good look around FBS Books as it is filled with wonderful resources!! Thank you so much Taraleigh for offering to share Prayers of an Excellent Wife with one of my readers! This book is sure to be a blessing!
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For a chance to win a copy of Prayers of an Excellent Wife:

  1. Leave a comment here on this post letting us know something you pray for your husband about (or would like to begin praying for him about).
  2. For a second chance at winning a copy of this book, join me in becoming a facebook fan of FBS books! This will be a great way to keep up to date with their sales and new products! Once you become a fan, be sure to leave a second comment here letting me know!

Everyone sign up to win this book…then get on your knees for your husband. Your marriage will be blessed as a result! Thank God for the chance to lift our needs up to Him!

Heavenly Homemaker's Club Members: Access your homepage and all your fantastic resources here! Not a member yet? Please join us!

Menu Plan for the Week

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You all know that food makes me excited. Can I tell you about my latest little fun food thing? I found these cute mini chocolate chips at Amazon. They don’t have any soy lecithin in them (my reason for looking). They’re so stinkin’ cute and fun to bake with. Yep, doesn’t take much to entertain us all around here. (And yes, I often do make my own chocolate chips, but sometimes a girl just needs a little chocolate chip convenience.)

I’ve also got to tell you about how we tried Valerie’s Bacon Cheddar Meatloaves  last week! We’d been excited all week long because, hello? Bacon, cheddar cheese and beef all together in one dish? How would that not be good?

So Saturday night came and I had the meatloaves in the oven baking…went to the fridge to get out the bacon to wrap around the loaves for the last phase of baking…and DIDN’T HAVE ANY BACON. I knew I had some bacon in there. Except that I didn’t.   And I was WAY too scary looking to run to the store (which thankfully I remembered before I went). 

So we had Cheddar Meatloaves , which were still amazingly wonderful, by the way.

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Here’s our menu for the week, and here’s hoping I have all the ingredients this time:

Sunday, March 7
Oatmeal, pears
Fund raising meal for youth mission trip
Creamy mac and cheese, steamed broccoli and carrots

Monday, March 8
Chocolate chip pancakes, bananas
Homemade corn dogs , apple slices
Roasted chicken, potatoes, carrots, gravy

Tuesday, March 9
Mini breakfast pizza, oranges
Grilled turkey and cheese sandwiches, strawberry peach slushie
Sloppy cornbread, tossed salad

Wednesday, March 10
Orange muffins, fruit and kefir smoothies
Cheddar ranch burgers, green beans
Chicken and noodles, carrot sticks, fruit salad

Thursday, March 11
Fried eggs, cinnamon swirl bread, clementines
Turkey sausage, mashed potato pancakes, peas
Italian stew with green beans

Friday, March 12
Peanut butter honey toast, canned peaches
Taco potatoes
Lamb-burgers on whole wheat hamburger buns, onion rings

Saturday, March 13
Mom is Great breakfast Cake
Leftover buffet
BBQ meatballs, baked potatoes, asparagus
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Find more menu planning inspiration at Organizing Junkie.

Heavenly Homemaker's Club Members: Access your homepage and all your fantastic resources here! Not a member yet? Please join us!

Favorite Pizza Toppings – Question #60

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Tonight was pizza night at our house. 

I usually make pizza using this recipe, but tonight I was more in the mood for a thicker crust, so I made a yeast dough.

And of course, pictured above is just one of the pizzas but really I had to make three pizzas to fill us all. (I just picked the prettiest one for the picture.) 

Three pizzas did fill us all but most everyone needed more food two hours later. That’s how it works around here. Wow, these kids can eat.

We like making our pizzas with a variety of toppings. Some with “just cheese”. Some with cheese and turkey pepperoni. Some with cheese, turkey pepperoni and black olives. Some with cheese, turkey pepperoni, black olives, mushrooms and green peppers.

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Pretty tasty. 

Ooh, and my favorite ingredient? I like using white cheddar cheese instead of mozzarella. It gives the pizza SUCH good flavor!

So what’s your favorite kind of pizza? Do you like making pizza yourself? If not, where do you like to get your pizza?

Is anyone now hungry for pizza? Sorry about that. If you come on by, I think I might have a couple leftover slices.

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