The Whimsical Momma

Here is a recipe I came up with just yesterday for grilling. We used a boneless Boston Butt and we used some apple-wood chips but you can just use what ever you wish or have on hand. We smoked ours for about 3 hrs roughly and it was well cooked, juicy but with a lovely bark on it. I hope you like it! :) Recipe for the rub: 2 tbsp of Paprika 1 tbsp of Salt 2 tsp Parsley (dried & fine) 1 tsp Garlic Powder 1/2 tsp Ground Pepper 1/2 tsp Cumin 1/2 tsp Celery Salt 1/2 tsp Mustard Powder (I Used Colmans) 1/2 tsp Crushed Red Pepper Juice from 1 Lime Handful of Cilantro Chopped Olive Oil (I used about 2 tbsp) Just Mix the ingredients together and rub on the meat. Let it sit for at least 30 mins and cook!

HI! Sorry I have not posted much in a while, My camera broke and I finally bought one (it's going back, I am not happy with it) but I managed to take some test pictures of some cookies I made so I figured I'd post this. If you love soft chunky cookies that are moist, this is the recipe for you. :-) I make these every week, with different variations. If you like this I can post more in the future, so please let me know. Ingredients     1 cup Butter (Room temp or cut in pieces and Microwave for 20-30 secs)     1/2 cup Brown Sugar     1/2 cup Sugar     3.4 oz pkg instant Chocolate pudding mix     2 eggs (at room temp)     1 tbsp Cocoa Powder     1 1/2 tsp Vanilla Essence or Extract     2 1/4 cup Flour     1 tsp Baking soda     1/2 tsp Baking powder     2 Cups of White Choc Chips (I use Ghirardelli) Instructions  ...

    I would like to apologize for no posts, My camera is broken and I can't take any decent pictures at the moment until i buy a new one, which might be a while. Here is a recipe for a Popsicle I made for my daughter, she loves these and has already eaten half the batch. The recipe takes a few minutes and you can make 6 - 8 Popsicles.     1 1/4 Cup of Frozen Blueberries     1/2 Cup of whole fat vanilla Yogurt     1/2 Cup of Coconut Milk (I use Thai Kitchen Organic Milk)     1/3 cup of Heavy Cream     1 Tbsp of Honey     1 Tbsp of Condensed Milk (You can skip this or just add 1Tablespoonof honey again instead)     1/4 cup of Protein Powder (I used BSN Syntha-6 Vanilla)     10 leaves of clean baby spinach     1. In a blender, puree the yogurt, Cream and coconut milk. Once a smooth consistency is reached,  add the froze...

Sweet, Creamy & Delicious.... Creamy Coconut Popsicles. This recipe makes about 12-15 Popsicles depending on your molds. You'll need: 1 can of coconut milk (I used Thai kitchen organic) 1 can of reg sized condensed milk ½ cup Almond or Coconut milk ¼ cup heavy cream 1 teaspoon vanilla extract ¾ cup shredded unsweetened coconut 1. Blend ingredients together. 2. Pour into Popsicle molds and freeze for about 5 hrs. 3. Enjoy!

Happy Earth Day everyone! I hope you are all having a wonderful Monday, We are both having a pretty good day despite the gloomy weather. We are going to be enjoying our Earth Day by painting some stuff indoors and pretend cooking some delicious ;-) healthy meals. hehe here are some ideas you and your little one can do depending on the weather and what you have available to you: Play Dough Painting Drawing with crayons (use up carton from cereal boxes to make a nice card) Sensory box (no need for rainbow rice, use beans, lentils, flour... so many recipes around) Reading Puzzles if you have a tablet (you can read, do puzzles, practice the alphabet or shapes... it pretty limitless) Pretend play Go out and play, look and point at different things around you.  Go to a playground Get dirty with them and plant something or Play in a sandbox! Cook something together or ask them to help you put the dishes away Make a tent out of sheets, furniture and cushions. Sing and Dan...

This chicken recipe is not only delicious, but Whole30 & Paleo friendly. It's also a quick but flavorful meal to prepare during the week. You can either grill these or bake them in the oven. I have tried both and they came out great either way. You will need: 1 pack of Chicken Thighs Bone in & skin on (usually 4) 1 tbsp Paprika 2 tsp Garlic Powder 1 tsp of dried Parsley 1 tsp of Salt 1 tbsp of Cilantro (I used pureed) Juice & zest from a Lime 1/2 tsp Cayenne Pepper 1/2 tsp of ground Pepper 1 tbsp of olive oil Preheat oven at 400F if you are going to be baking it straight away (if you are going to let it sit, hold off on that).  Mix all the ingredients together (not the chicken).  Once you have your marinade, add your chicken thighs and coat them well.  I usually get some under the skin because if you don't the chicken can be rather bland.  Depending if you are letting it sit some or not, go ahead and bake for 35-40 mins.  Once...

It's Friday!!! Woooooo!!! Today Scarlett had a playdate and we (I) have been dying to try the whole sensory box idea. I am sure if you a pinterest user you may have seen tons of pins about these. I came across a few different recipes, I went with the vinegar version because I didn't like the idea of alcohol all over the rice and possibly on her hands and then into her mouth. Anyways, here is my recipe, walk through. I could have taken more pictures but it's so easy that I got carried away. You will need: Zip lock bags (sandwich size) or plastic containers you don't care about. Cheap Rice (2 cups per color) Food Colors (you can use natural dyes) (a few drops or more per color) Distilled White Vinegar (2 tbsp per color) something like a cookie tray or anything you can use to lay the rice on to dry over night (it could stain) First thing you will need to do is place your 2 cups of rice in your zip lock bag or container, add your 2 tbsp (tablespoon) of...

I have been away for a little bit but I am back again and I wanted to share our favorite homemade baked chicken nuggets that will appease to even the pickiest toddler on the block. Here are the ingredients you will need: 1 Pack of ground chicken 1 Handful of 5 min Oats also known as old fashioned oats (1/4 cup) 1 tbsp of egg whites Bread crumbs or you could use almond flour for something healthier pinch of onion powder pinch of salt (I use Himalayan Sea salt) pinch of garlic powder pinch celery salt pinch of dried parsley that's been crushed finely Preheat your oven at 375 (May vary with some ovens). Mix all the ingredients in a bowl except for the breadcrumbs (almond flour optional instead), on a large plate place the breadcrumbs or almond flour ready for coating your nugget mix. With a little scoop, or a spoon, scoop some of the mixture on the breadcrumb plate.  Roll to cover it and flatten and shape into a nugget, repeat until all the mixture is gone. Once...

So, I have been away from the blog for quite a bit. I do apologize. I was just not motivated to type anything. between cooking so many times a day, taking care of my little carebear (teething) and cleaning I didn't get much free time to my self, so I just spent that time doing stuff to relax. Day 30!!!!!!!!!! I'm happy to have reached it Feb 19 to be exact, though I do plan to eat like this the a lot of the time, I will still indulge in some non paleo foods every now and then. tehehe so, What have I learned from this experience? I have learned that my old way of eating were hurting me (my body), I was always worrying, tired, having anxiety and panic attacks at times, I felt depressed and I disliked how I felt, my body ached, my bm were not regular, I would get bad PMS. I also learned that the Whole 30 Helped me get my body and sanity back. I feel so much happier, energetic, I hardly worry, no anxiety, I sleep better (as good as a co-sleeping bf mom can sleep), I ache less...

Ingredients: 1x Ripe Banana 1x Egg Some Ground Cinnamon, Ginger & Clove to your liking. In a mixing bowl mash or blend a banana, stir in the egg and spices and whisk, Heat up your pan, add a bit of your desired oil to heat, scoop in a couple of tablespoons of the mixture and cook, flip and serve with your desired sides. :) If you would like something to dip or pour on your pancakes, I sometimes drizzle some Thai kitchens organic coconut milk on mine and it's soooo good. hehe I cant tell you how much I love these. :)

  Hi again everyone! So I just wanted to update on my Whole30, I have not given into temptation yet,  Day 5 & going strong! :) I am actually really enjoying the Whole30 challenge, although I must admit, it is much more time consuming than I had anticipated, between the meals, cleaning up and tidying the house and taking care of the little one, I don't get as much free time as usual, it's not like we ate bad, its just that I have to still please the non whole30 eaters in the house. hahaha I have come to find a love and bigger appreciation for fruits and vegetables that I had started to lose, I am also enjoy things like nuts, eggs and meats more which is great in my books. I love that it is encouraging me to be more creative with my cooking, I don't know about you, but after a while meals get repetitive and sometimes rather boring but after starting The Whole30 challenge, my meals have been satisfying and refreshing. Which is great! :)  I have had no lu...

Woo Day 3! So far it's been easy but I can't say I have had no cravings, I have wanted to eat something deliciously sweet but have not caved into my sweet tooth, I know that it could get harder later but I do not plan on quitting this. hehe :D For all of those that are not sure of what I am talking about, I recently started a Whole 30 challenge, don't know what it is? It's a nutritional program designed to change your life in 30 days. by eliminating certain food from your diet, you give your body a chance to heal and hopefully learn from this. If you would like to read more about this, please visit: The Whole 30 Program Here are some pictures from my past few days, if there aren't a ton its because I either have not had my camera at hand or I ate leftovers. :)  Banana pancakes, bacon & orange slices  Plantains, Latin inspired Chicken with zucchini & squash slices.  Patties, fries and salad veggies. Yummy salad with sliced egg omele...

Hi again! I have been a little M.I.A since the new year. I apologize, but I am back again and I wanted to share with you my newest thing. I stumbled across the Whole30 Challenge, and after reading about it and it's benefits, I decided I wanted to take part in this challenge too. So, Today was my first day, it's been good so far but I can see there will be some difficult days ahead as far as cravings go. For my first day I started out with Eggs, bacon & an apple for breakfast. for lunch I was a getting hungry and needed something quick so, I had a rolled egg omelet & a delicious salad packed with lots of yummy things and I just sprinkled it with some salt, pepper & lemon. For dinner I made more of an effort, I had turkey veggie patties, butternut squash baked fries & some salad vegetables on the side. If you would like the recipe for my Turkey veggie Burgers just follow the steps below. 1 lb Ground Turkey 1 small onion or half a regular sized onion chop...

So I just had to mention that I came across an Alphabet app called Idlezoo A-Z of Curious Creatures that's free for a limited on the App-store, I think it's really good so I thought I'd share with you guys. So hit the link and check it out, see if you like it or better yet if your little ones like it. Hope you have a great Saturday! :)

Imaginarium Wooden Farm Set.  (Pig also included but plastic veggies and orange shape is not) I just had to share my daughters latest toy, it's a little farm house and I got it on sale recently from Toys'R'US for $15.99, but I believe it is now going for $19.99. They little characters are so adorable and I find them to be safe for my daughter who is 16 Months. The house is pretty cute as well and i did have to build it but it didn't take me that long, specially considering I used a normal screwdriver. It also comes with a paper mat but my daughter would destroy that in a second, so i didn't lay it down. So that is enough of that toy, we have also been playing a lot of puzzles on our ipad and she has gotten so good at the single piece ones, but she has recently started doing 4 piece puzzles and just yesterday I caught her playing a card match game on the Winnie the pooh app. I am so happy about this, she has been doing real puzzles since November but was al...

Hi everyone, Happy New Year! I hope you all had a lovely new years eve and got to celebrate for the New year. We stayed in, baked future cookies as my husband calls it, played games with our daughter and watched movies. One thing I enjoyed about not going out and celebrating was that I didn't feel awful the next day. haha I don't know about you, but I just can't do late nights anymore, I know the little carebear will still wake up at the same time and that means I do too. :/ For the New Year I have decided that I will be making some changes, My New Years resolutions are to be Healthy, Happy & to be the best Mother I can be to my daughter.  I have decided that I want to incorporate exercise into my daily life. I want to eat cleaner & drink more water. I will also be making an effort to do more activities with my daughter, try to see things from her perspective and to have more patience. Last but not least, I want to try to be more positive, let go of grudg...