Buying from a food co-op can be intimidating! I mean, who needs a six month supply of salt? I hope to share with you the items that I deem the best buys from Azure Standard as well as some of the flops. Deciding to buy from Azure Standard has been one of the best decisions I have made for our family’s budget and health.
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My Relationship With Azure Standard
Many people I trusted recommended Azure and being a little skeptical I wasn’t sure how to fit it into our grocery budget. I took the plunge in November of 2020 and never looked back. Azure Standard is now a permanent fixture in our grocery buying routine. Azure Standard is one of the main places we source our food from!
The Azure Standard website is easy to navigate and their customer service is wonderful. The few times I have had an issue they were quick to reply and rectify the situation.
I have a blog post here about how to to order from them if you haven’t already! All of the products I recommend are linked below. Simply click the highlighted text to be taken to Azure’s website where you can view the full details of the item. If you are a new customer to Azure Standard and use any of the links below to order a $100 or more, I receive a small credit to my Azure Standard order. Thank you to everyone who has used my links, it is such a blessing to my family!
The Best Buys From Azure Standard (In My Humble Opinion)
Produce:
If you live in a rural area as I do, finding organic produce can be difficult. Believe me, the irony of being surrounded by thousands of acres of farmland and not able to buy local organic cabbage is not lost on me. I don’t buy all of my produce from Azure but I do get a few things that aren’t available to me locally. I have never had an issue with anything arriving spoiled or damaged and everything is top quality!
Until I can grow my own you will find me buying the following organic produce:
Carrots **Update 2023** I now purchase organic carrots from Costco, but Azure is still a great source if you want larger quantities!
Apples (only available when in season, so buy them up when you can! They sell quickly!)
Oranges
Garlic I have no idea what variety Azure carries, but it’s delicious! The cloves are large and have a wonderful mellow and buttery flavor. I buy my garlic from Azure when I know I’ll be using a lot of garlic because it’s so easy to peel and chop.
Seasonings: Herbs, Spices, Salt, Extracts, Sweeteners
I mentioned buying a six month supply of salt at the beginning of this post, and I would like to say that it is definitely $50 well spent! Good quality salt is very important to me and Azure Standard has a wonderful selection with great prices. My family goes through about one pound of celtic sea salt a month. Ordering one pound at a time just wasn’t economical and there were even times that the salt would be out of stock, leaving me to buy lesser quality or eek through on what I had. Buying six pounds at a time saved us nearly $2 a pound and the headache of running out. This is one of the best buys from Azure Standard!
Azure carries a full line of products under their own label which is very affordable. They have organic and non-GMO options as well! If you aren’t sure how you will like a certain spice or seasoning, you can often buy it in a smaller amount (usually 4 oz.) or a larger package if you are like me and enjoy using all the spices!
Organic Vanilla Extract: Azure has the best prices I’ve found for organic vanilla extract and it’s really yummy too! They have many varieties to choose from.
Azure’s is the best I have ever had, it isn’t bone dry like most other coconut sugars.
This coconut sugar has a lovely texture and taste that makes baking with it a joy. It acts a lot like dark brown sugar! You can buy it in quantities ranging from 1 Lb to 55 Lbs. Definitely one of the best buys from Azure Standard!
Absolute Best Buy From Azure Standard: Grains
If I could select only one category to buy from Azure Standard, it would be grains! Azure has become the only place I buy my whole grains from. Bulk organic and specialty grains can be difficult to find. Not only does Azure carry almost all of them, but they also have the best prices. If you are interested in milling grain at home, Azure is your place to go!
We buy the following organic varieties under the Azure Market label:
Oats: quick, thick rolled, gluten free
Popcorns (our favorite is the mushroom variety)
Rices of all sorts **Update** of 2023, I plan to buy organic white rice from Costco, but Azure is still a great place to source rice from if you don’t have a Costco near you!)
Azure also carries wonderful assortments of gluten free grains, flours, and baking mixes.
Oils And Vinegars
Coconut oil, refined and virgin: I purchase it by the gallon, the container is great for storage!
This coconut oil has been refined to remove the coconut flavor, but has not been contaminated with any solvents or chemicals and has not been hydrogenated. We use it for higher heat cooking and some baking.
great for baking used in place of industrial seed oils such as canola and sunflower oils! We also use this to make our own mayonnaise. Although a gallon is shown here, they offer many different sizes.
Organic Raw Apple Cider Vinegar:
Azure Standard’s ACV is the best ACV I have ever had! A lovely full body flavor and a deeper color than all of the other ACVs I’ve tried over the years. It also is the best deal for ACV I have ever found! It can also be purchased in smaller sizes.
Drinks
Organic English Breakfast Tea:
We make a lot of tea around here! Azure carries a full line of herbal and medicinal teas. We enjoy English Breakfast Tea for regular drinking and making kombucha.
I enjoy a cup of Dandy Blend every morning! Azure also carries a non organic version which is a tad bit cheaper and has more options for larger quantities or even single serve packets. I like to switch between this and coffee in the morning.
Household Items: Cleaning
It can be difficult to find non toxic cleaning and baking supplies, thankfully Azure makes it easy!
I’ve been really pleased with the cleaning power this soap has. In addition to the fragrance free version, they also carry Citrus, Lemon Verbena, and Lavender scents. **Update 2023 Azure Standard has recently redesigned and renamed the dish soap since I first wrote this post in 2022, but it’s still great! I buy it by the gallon. Sizes range from 16 oz to 5 gallon buckets.
Charlie’s Soap Oxygen Bleach: **2023 update** I haven’t purchased this product recently and the price has gone up. Azure Standard now has its own oxygen bleach powder available which I want to try! If I like it, I’ll replace this product with a link to the one from Azure’s own line.
I love that this is chlorine free and it works!
Azure Clean Stain and Odor Eliminator:
Azure is redesigning some of their labeling, so the name I wrote above and the name of the product in the picture don’t match, but I’ll update that when they do! This stain and odor eliminator has been a game changer in my laundry and homemaking. I’ve found it to be incredibly effective! Another thing that I love is the nozzle on the spray bottle is a dream to use. I first purchased this product in the spray bottle and love it so much I am ordering a full gallon so we don’t run out!
- Live enzymes dissolve the toughest stains and smells.
- Cleans stains and odors from foods, body fluids (blood, vomit, urine, feces), coffee, wine, grease and oil, dirt and more.
- Powerful enzymatic plant-based formula that removes stains and odors Earth-friendly (free from SLS, SLES, Laureth-7, butyl, brighteners, chlorine or phosphates)
Household Items: Baking
If You Care paper products:
These parchment baking paper and muffin tin liners are wonderful! If You Care parchment products are never bleached and do not contain heavy metal leaching Quilon. Did you know that parchment paper can leach heavy metals into your food?? I didn’t until I started buying this brand. And I’ll never turn back!
Personal Care
Trace Minerals bentonite clay:
This clay is excellent for use in baths, facial masks, and tooth powders. I’m not able to find it many places in my area and Azure Standard has always had the best price per pound compared to what I’ve found from other retailers.
Redmond Earthpaste Toothpaste:
There are quite a few different flavors available and even some with activated charcoal, but the cinnamon is my personal favorite. You can even purchase this toothpaste in singles or packs of 3 or 6. I like stocking up when I can to prevent having to run to the grocery store and getting an inferior product.
Supplements:
I began taking this supplement in December of 2022 and I have been pleasantly surprised at the difference it has made! My skin and immune system are singing the praises of this supplement. Tasteless and very fairly priced! Other sources are selling this same supplement for $20-$25 more.
Green Pasture Blue Ice Fermented Cod Liver Oil:
If you are super crunchy, chances are you know the benefits of fermented cod liver oil. It’s a natural whole food form of vitamins A and D3. I began taking this supplement during my 4th pregnancy and feel the difference. Green Pasture is an excellent company and the fish oil is produced according to ancient fermentation practices without bleaching, refinement, deodorizing, or synthetic vitamins being added as other fish oils on the market.
Azure Standard has an entire facts sheet available on the product which can be found here. They have some of the best prices on high quality fish oils that I have seen.
Now For Some Of The Worst Buys From Azure Standard:
I really try not to be a negative person, but no matter where you shop, there will always be a few items that don’t work for you. All of the following items that I disliked are through no fault of Azure Standard, they just personally weren’t my favorite. With all that being said, YOU may try these and really enjoy them, YAY for you!
Charlie’s Soap Laundry Powder
I was pretty excited to try this laundry powder, since it claims to clean everything from grease to poop. If you cloth diaper, you know how important that is! Unfortunately it just didn’t clean like I hoped. We do have very hard water though, so perhaps that was part of it. I noticed that my kitchen dish rags and cloth napkins had an oily residue while using this, no matter if I used hot water or even extra powder.
I now purchase the Country Save Laundry Powder, which can be be purchased in smaller boxes or in bulk in 40 Lb bags. The Azure Clean Laundry Powder is also a great buy, but is a little more expensive. The Azure Clean laundry powder does offer a few different naturally scented options whereas the Country Save only comes in unscented.
Simple Kneads Gluten Free Sourdough Bread
While I was eating gluten free, I wanted so badly to make my own gluten free sourdough bread but was never able to. I was really excited to find this on Azure Standard. However, it just didn’t live up to my expectations. The loaf is very small for the price and honestly didn’t have the greatest texture. It was soggy once thawed and only tolerable if toasted. I ended up finding Gluten Free bread I liked better (even though it wasn’t sourdough) from a regular grocery store.
Shelton Turkey Italian Links
Just don’t. It’s definitely not worth your money. Yuck. Eww. Not fit for human consumption. Insert Jean-Ralphio singing “she’s the wooooorst” right here. Only instead of singing about Mona Lisa, he’d be saying it about these tasteless rubber tubes the package calls sausage.
**Update 2023** Azure Standard no longer carries this product! However, if you see it elsewhere and want to try it, please dont’! It’s not worth it!
Since our family tries to eat Biblically clean, we’ve eaten our fair share of turkey and beef sausages. I was pretty excited to give this a try. It has only a few ingredients and is made with beef collagen casings. It can be difficult to find sausage without pork casings.
We were utterly and severely disappointed. Tough, flavorless, and completely disgusting. I tried in vain to cook it in all sorts of ways only to be disgusted every time. One of the most disappointing aspects is that only a large quantity can be purchased instead of a single box at a time. This is not the norm for Azure Standard, and I really wish that I hadn’t spent over $30 for these awful sausages.
Well, that’s pretty much it! I hope to keep this post updated with any future favorites and flops. Azure Standard has so many products I may never get to try them all and they are also regularly adding new products!
Feel Like Trying Azure Standard For Yourself?
If you would like to try some of these best buys from Azure Standard feel free to use my personal link! If you make a qualifying purchase of $100 or more, I receive a small credit to my account which is a huge blessing to my little family. I’ll leave it right here.
Blessings and happy shopping!
Olivia
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