Sun and Salt Wellness

Rainy and cooler weather calls for a warm and hearty soup. Check out my recipe for InstantPot Pozole!

Pozole Mexicano

Ingredients
* 2 cups water
* 1 whole chicken bouillon
* 1/2 pound cubed chicken breast
* 1/2 pound pork belly, 1 inch cubes
* 1/2 pound chuck beef, 1 inch chunks
* 1 medium white onion, diced
* 8 large garlic cloves diced
* 2 cans hominy drained
* 1 cup Modelo Negro
* 1 pound tomatillos husked and quartered
* 2 poblano chiles chopped
* 2 jalapeños chopped, plus more for serving
* 1 tablespoon dried oregano
* 1 tbsp dried cilantro
* 1 tbsp onion powder
* 1 tbsp garlic powder
* Kosher salt to taste
* Black pepper to taste
* 1/2 cup chopped cilantro stems and leaves; plus more for serving
* Red radishes sliced; for serving
* Avocado sliced; for serving
* Lime wedges for serving
Prepare
1. First, place some olive oil and the chicken, pork belly, and beef chuck in the instant pot and cook on the saute function while stirring until the meat has caramelized/ brown along the edges, releasing its oils and flavor into the pot.
2. Next, add the onion and allow to saute with the meat for 7 minutes.
3. Then stir in garlic and cook for 30 seconds, just long enough to release the flavor.
4. Add the tomatillos, 2 cans of hominy, poblano peppers, jalapeno if using, all the dry spices, and chicken bouillon, along with 2 cups of water.
5. Place the lid and lock it and set the InstantPot for pressure cooking for 30 minutes on high.
6. Make sure to manually release all of the air from the InstantPot before opening. Stir in 2 Tbsp of fresh cilantro, juice of three limes squeezed and stirred into the pot.
7. Finally, serve the pozole Mexicano garnished with cilantro, radishes, avocado, and limes along with salt and pepper to taste.

Mantra
1. A tool used to focus the mind.
2. Sacred utterance
3. A word or phrase used in a repetitive manner.
I recently just finished reading The Hidden Messages in Water by Masaru Emoto. It uncovers a peculiar correlation between different kinds of water, how it is spoken to, how music or displaying a word or photo to it along with freezing and photographing its corresponding ice crystals shows the impact that words and their energy transfer to the water crystals. Water which was untreated and spoken words of affirmation, show beautiful images, or played classical music to produced perfectly developed ice crystals. Chemically treated, microwaved, or polluted water along with negative words whether spoken or shown, heavy metal music, or sometimes isolation yielded undeveloped ice crystals. When spoken positively to, even the affected water had a chance of producing crystals, even if deformed. What’s that to say about us as people? How much ugliness is being manifested within ourselves at our negative self talk or exposing ourselves to stressful situation. The bad news is, stress will never go away, the good news is how you speak to yourself and cultivate good thoughts through mantras can help form some goodness within.

Vocal vibrations helps to wash out hatful chemicals from your brain, specifically found in the cerebral spinal fluid. A brain flushed of these harmful chemicals can engage in higher thinking and deeper concentration. The vibrations produced by what you say vibrate your brain, your whole being. Contingent upon what you say more of will manifest in your body in correlation.

Man= mind
Tra= instrument of

Ta***ic yoga teaches us that what we say is an instrument of the mind. What we say holds and has great energy and power over physical and emotional manifestations within ourselves and in relationship to others.

It’s never to late to start. What mantra are you writing on your heart as you start this day and week anew?

Sink your teeth into some star fruit! Star fruit, carambola in Spanish, is high in fiber aiding your digestive system. It is also low on the glycemic index, helping you to avoid excess sugar in your diet. Loaded with potassium and a low amount of sodium, star fruit can also help you maintain healthier blood pressure. And as of the list doesn’t seem to get long enough, star fruit is high on Vitamin C bringing 76% of your daily intake. What’s not to love about star fruit, including its beautiful shape? Enjoy one today!

What yoga really is. 🙏🏻❤️🧘🏻‍♀️

One of the most common questions I get asked in regards to being a yogi almost every single time the topic comes up is, “Can you do a handstand?” If this, to you, is the goal of yoga, then please let me dispel your misconceptions and tell you what yoga really is and should be for all. Read the following, as I hold it dear to my heart and soul. “The yoga pose is not the goal.

Becoming flexible is not the goal.

Standing on your hands is not the goal.

The goal of yoga is to create space where you were once stuck; to unveil the layers of protection you’ve built around your heart; to appreciate your body and become aware of the mind and the noise it creates; to make peace with who you are and what you are here to do.” - Rachel Brathen

“You have permission to rest.” I will never forget during my YTT last year how many times I heard the phrase, “Give yourself permission…” how many times do you give everyone outside of yourself permission for a myriad of things but you forget to give yourself permission? And rest? How much over-glorification do you give to being busy? I know I’d be guilty as charged but the last year and taught me a lot about rest and with more frequency. I used to get antsy when everything was done and then I gave myself permission to rest. I give myself ALL the time to rest before much else gets done, to restore a system of checks and balances physically, energetically, emotionally, spiritually, all within me. You have permission to rest. Rest.

Happy National Tequila Day! Tequila is considered the healthier of liquors. Made from the blue agave plant, which is native to Mexico, it has been shown to promote bone growth by boosting levels of calcium and magnesium.

It is the recommended choice for diabetics as the natural sugars in agave are non-digestible, avoiding spikes in blood sugar levels.

Tequila has probiotics helping to make your gut environment thrive, of course so long as you don’t over-consume it.

Make this refreshing Paloma cocktail with your favorite, high grade tequila! Feel free to adjust the amount of tequila to your taste.

Paloma Cocktail

Ingredients

2 oz tequila
2 oz soda water
1 grapefruit, all juice squeezed
1 like, all juice squeezed
2 teaspoons honey, extra for ri***ng
Ice, as needed
Grapefruit wedge
Salt for ri***ng

Prepare

1. Dip a cocktail glass rim into water mixed with a bit of honey. The honey helps the salt stick better.
2. Add ice to a cocktail glass.
3. Add all ingredients up to the honey in a cocktail shaker and give it a good shake.
4. Pour and enjoy responsibly!

Rose quartz, pink in hue as a result of the presence of pink variety mineral, dumortierrite.
Use this stone when you’re feeling deep emotions of love or loss or to help ease feelings of stress.
It is known to work directly with the heart chakra and activates the root chakra, treating energetic imbalances. Physically, it can help reduce high blood pressure, heal the adrenals, kidneys, alleviates vertigo, and improves blood circulation. Keep one in a room you most often inhabit to accelerate healing.

Satya, in Indian Hinduism, truth, essence. Satya is one of the five yamas or moral restraints in how you interact with other beings. We always take that vantage point of other beings, but so we really consider ourselves in that mix? Being honest with our words and actions can be found at the surface of yoga in our poses, mudras, and mantras. It can be manifested at deeper levels underneath the subcutaneous. How much of this truth are we speaking unto ourselves and allowing ourselves to stand in the truth of our feelings? The truth hurts, as they say, but what if you’re caught in a negative dialogue with yourself? My challenge for you is to speak words of affirmation over yourself amid turmoil and self-loathing. Step into the truth of how amazing you are and know you’re wonderfully crafted with the threads of universe.

Summer is in full swing and my boys couldn’t be happier!

Today is National Ice Cream Day! Celebrate with these delicious homemade strawberry ice cream with peanut butter cookie sandwiches! Head over to my food blog for the recipes http://floridagirlcooks.com/strawberry-ice-cream-sandwiches/

If you are reading this:

Real ease your shoulder from your ears

Unclench your jaw

Drop your tongue from the roof of your mouth

Mindfulness doesn’t have to be complicated.

Back in about October/December during one of my Saturday YTT class days at it was raining in the door to studio B in the back was open. We were taking a break and it got really dark and cloudy quick. Something in the wind called my heart out to Cuba and my family there. This poem was a result of that deep feeling. It’s the best justice I can do to the emotions that filled me with the power of my roots. My trip to Cuba to learn about my family’s roots and meet our family there was, to date, one of the most emotionally intense yet beautiful times of my life. My parents always made sure to educate me on who we are, where we came from, why, and to speak the hope and dream of a free Cuba. With the recent uprisings in Cuba, I’ve been covered with chills seeing my people rise up against the oppression they’ve been sold on for 62 years. The broken promises delivered by the Castro revolution has finally been realized by all as a lie, as countless murders, as time to rise above and take back the once powerful and beautiful Cuba that once was. I hope you enjoy this poem as much as it fills me that this day is arriving. I’m feeling poetically revived in the last few months out and I know more is coming as we arrive to see Cuba free.

Las Lluvias de Lagrimas

Aunque llueva en Cuba,
Llueve lo mismo aqui.
Alla se quedo familia,
A extrañar y sufrir.

De la manera igual,
Las lagrimas cain,
Del cielo tan gran,
Muriendose por lo politico.

Estamos en connecion,
Por alma y telefono,
Los opresores ya no pueden controlar,
Ya llegamos a nunca,
De la esclavitud de mi patria.

Come flow with me, Teresa, on Sunday, July 25, 2021 from 8-9am at Carandis Park, 1700 Carandis Road, Lake Clarke Shores 33406 🙏🏻

Florida is about to receive it’s first hurricane, Elsa for the 2022 season. Get yourself ready by considering some of the following:

* made sure home/renters insurance is up-to-date
* have water and canned good as needed
* know where all of your important documents such as passport, birth certificate, social security card, important deeds are located for yourself and family members
* plans for your pets
* filled up your car with gasoline and have an evacuation plan as needed
* have walkie talkies as an alternative plan of communication / rendezvous point in case you get split up from family members
* have plenty of books and games to keep children entertained

Stay safe to all in Florida and beyond where hurricanes are at threat now and always.

Poetry and Prose have captivated my attention, heart, and soul since a young age. My grandfather was a poet so it found a way into my blood. Poetry is the lyrical play that doesn’t have to end in childhood and adolescence. I find poetry to be so refreshing for my heart and soul as reading in general is one of my forms of self-care. Here is a list of some of my current favorites:

* Clarity & Connection - Yung Pueblo
* Here at Dawn - Beau Taplin
* HER. - Pierre Alex Jeanty
* Bloom for Yourself II: Let Go and Grow - April Green
* Inquire Within - In-Q

Check these out if you’ve tucked poetry away away due to your adulthood journey. If you’re into poetry, what are some books and authors you love?

Long awaited daily lazy days at the beach with toes in the sand and the languid sound of waves lapping at the shore are finally here. It is summer time and my boys and I couldn’t be happier!

Enjoy this refreshing and easy to make healthy meal of Roasted Beets with Avocado Crema from the cookbook, one of our family favorites, especially in the summer time. Beets contain high levels of antioxidant and anti-inflammatory agents that studies show may help reduce the risk of some cancers. They get their striking red color from betacyanin, a plant pigment that some preliminary research indicates might help defend cells against harmful carcinogens. Also, high levels of a unique fiber found in beets may be linked to a lower colon cancer risk. @ Hartwood

Need to shed off some stress? Come taking an introductory yoga class with me, Teresa Gonzalez, on Sunday, June 27, 2021 from 8-9AM at Carandis Park, 1700 Carandis Road, Lake Clarke Shores, Florida 33406. Bring a yoga mat or towel, water, and yourself! Donations are accepted! I can’t wait to meet you there! Namaste! 🙏🏻🕉🧿

Happy 5th birthday to my baby boy Isaac! You are such a joy to be around. You’re always fun and always in good spirits. For being so little you have quite the sophistication and intellectual conversations. You have a good heart and always offer hugs and love when you see someone down. Happy birthday my baby. I hope you have a wonderful day and feel celebrated and loved today and everyday! @ West Palm Beach, Florida

Happy 11th birthday to my baby Jacob. You were the first to make me a mom and you’ve stolen my heart forever. You are kind, loving, smart, handsome, funny, creative, and the list goes on. I hope you feel the love we all have for you on this, your birthday and every single day my love. @ West Palm Beach, Florida

It’s National Cocktail Day! Celebrate with this tropical drink, which is both easy to make and refreshing.

Mango Mai Tai

Ingredients
* 4 cups ripe mango chunks
* 1/4 cup sugar
* 1 cup dark rum
* 1 cup pineapple juice
* 1/2 cup simple syrup
* 4 tablespoons Grenadine

Prepare
1. In a blender combine the mango, 1/4 cup water, and sugar abs blend until smooth until no chunks remain.
2. Add the rum, pineapple juice, and simple syrup, and blend until thoroughly combined. Pour the contents of the blender into ice filled glasses and top each drink with one tablespoon of Grenadine.
3. Top with a cocktail umbrella, jump in a hammock, and float away to paradise. 🍹🌴🌊 @ Moorea, French Polynesia

Paradise. That’s how I feel when I’m home and take a look at my surroundings there. Paradise is where you make it. I’ve spent countless hours landscaping in my life. Probably quite a bit the last few days restoring our front and back yard back to “paradise-worthy” status. My hands are beat up in a way I won’t be showcasing on here until they’re healed and manicured. But it feels so good to pull those weeds out and expose the beauty of the plants under there. Give new life to the old, which is still beautiful. To give sun and water and allow for nourishment and restoration. I can’t help but think we are much the same. Paradise is within us. We emanate so much beauty and peace. We allow business, life, and other things to get in the way. But that’s all OK. Without the weeds and the abandon for a time we can’t come back to our own personal paradise that we carry deep within our beings daily. Namaste my friends! 🙏🏻

Meet my superheroes! They fill my life with joy and laughter. They teach me and test me. I’m proud of my boys and love them dearly.

10 ways to be HAPPY

1. Start a gratitude practice. Start each day by writing one thing your grateful for or reading positive affirmations.
2. Get outside in the sun. Spending at least 10 mins in the sun a day can increase your serotonin levels giving a boost to your mood.
3. Make time to exercise. Exercise releases endorphins giving you a natural high, boosts your metabolism, keeps your heart strong, and staves off chronic illnesses and diseases.
4. Get more sleep. 8 hours of sleep a night and you’ll be feeling refreshed and ready to conquer each day.
5. Meditate more. Meditation coupled with breathing can help calm your mind and body, lowering your breathing and heart rate, blood pressure, and overall helping you regulate your emotions.
6. Drink more water. Drinking water keeps your body “well-oiled.” Your body composed of 72% water. All bodily processed require that you keep your body hydrated in order to function efficiently. Drink 64 oz. of water a day.
7. Treat yourself to a “goal” reward. Set rewards for meeting goals whether it’s after exercising for a week/month straight, getting enough sleep, drinking enough water, or etc. You can make it fun and make the reward relevant to your goal (i.e. water bottle, exercise apparel, new pillow)
8. Eat more fruits and vegetables. They’re the most natural source to antioxidants, vitamins, minerals, and fiber, which are all fighters against chronic diseases such as heart disease and cancer.
9. Spend quality time with quality people. Hanging out with people that lift your spirits can greatly benefit your well being improving by memory formation along with lowering blood pressure.
10. Plan a trip and GO! Make a list, pack your bags and get away to visit somewhere you like or haven’t been. It need not be too far. Be it alone or with your loved one or family, trips are a nice way to reset, refocus, and restore your mind, body, and soul while making beautiful memories!
Don’t see something on this list that appeases to you? Scratch things out and make it your own. Whatever it is, add it on, and do you boo! You’re the only one who can make you happy! ☀️

It’s Taco Tuesday y’all! Let’s make some Pork Carnitas Tostadas! 🌮🌮🌮🌮🌮🌮Pork Carnitas Tostadas
Ingredients
* 2 tbsp manteca (pork lard) or vegetable oil
* 2 1/4 lbs pork loin
* 1 tsp coarse salt
* 1 tsp ground cumin
* 1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
* 1 cup Freshly Squeezed Orange Juice
* 1/4 cup freshly squeezed lime juice
* 2 bay leaves
* Tostadas
* Red onions, diced
* Cilantro * Corn
* Sour cream
* Salt
* Black pepper
* Hot sauce of choice
Directions
1. First, set the Instant Pot to Sauté and adjust to More or High. Heat the manteca in the pot until completely melted. Add the pork and fry for 6 to 8 minutes, or until light golden brown. Season with the salt, cumin, and pepper. Add the orange and lime juices and top with the bay leaves.
2. Lock the lid into place and set the steam release valve to sealed. Select Manual or PRESSURE COOK and set the timer for 25 minutes on high.
3. When cooking is complete, quick release the pressure. Unlock and remove the lid. Remove and discard the bay leaves.
4. Using two forks, shred the pork on a cutting board.
5. Heat a nonstick pan to medium high and melt 2 tablespoons of the manteca. Heat half of the pork batch and use wooden tongs to constantly turn the shredded pork around, making sure to crisp and toast as much of the pork as possible. Repeat with the second batch.
6. Finally, serve the pork carnitas with corn tostadas, corn, red onion, sour cream, your favorite hot sauce, fresh cracked black pepper, sea salt, and whatever else you fancy. There’s really no wrong way to go from here. Enjoy! @ West Palm Beach, Florida

I love food so naturally I’m going to love cooking. I spend a good chunk of my day thinking of and day dreaming of food. It’s not often hubby and I get to dine out, especially since the pandemic started. We so miss a select few places, sadly some of which permanently closed due to Covid. What’s sustained us is the fact that we eat at home about 95% of the time, even pre-Covid. Here are some of our favorite physical cookbooks. Some of the rest are on my iPad and includes an array of authentic Mexican, Italian, Japanese, and Thai cookbooks. I also use where I store recipes I find online and also screen shot some of our family favorites from these cookbooks. What’s your favorite recipe or cookbook? I’d love to hear from you all since food is my jam! @ West Palm Beach, Florida

It was 2008 and I was living with an Italian family in New Jersey and eating all of the delicious food and getting to learn how to make it all along the way. It was my first time that far away from home and I was spoiled with foods from all over the world while attending The simplest , most delicious, and easy to make dish for just about any occasion is that of a Caprese Salad. With its ease comes good nutrition. Mozzarella offers low fat and cholesterol, tomatoes are high in folic acid and vitamins A, C, and E, and basil is high in vitamin K. Now that gives “fast food” a whole new meaning and outlook. 🍅🧀🍃
Caprese Salad 3 red tomatoes
2 mozzarella balls
1/4 cup basil
balsamic vinegar glaze
Italian seasoning
fresh cracked black pepper
sea salt
Prepare
1. First, slice tomatoes and mozzarella. 2. Cut the basil leaves off of the stems, leaving them whole.
3. In 9×13 dish alternate the tomato, mozzarella, and basil in rows of however you’d like to fashion them together.
4. Finally, sprinkle everything with Italian seasoning, fresh cracked black pepper, sea salt, and balsamic vinegar glaze. Enjoy with your loved ones!
@ West Palm Beach, Florida

I get a lot of crap for how I’m raising my sons alongside my husband. I honestly don’t have a perfect equation for being a mother. I’d like to keep it that way. All three of my sons, my pieces of my flesh and my soul are each so different. They require love, attention, emotions, learning and more in different ways. If they’ve taught me anything as a mother it’s to remain flexible and listen to their needs. Be opening to just listen and be present. Relinquish control. Hold a sacred and space for them each step of the way. My sons have added color to my life in a way I could’ve never inagined and I only hope to continue to add color to theirs, be it their hair color, expressiveness, experiences, and beyond. My boys are mine. Your children or lack theirof is/are yours. I’m proud and happy to be their mother and impart pieces of my upbringing and new pieces we’ve all collectively picked up along the journey. There’s no prescription or manual on how to parent. Follow your heart and good intentions in your own life. If I see myself in my own conditioning I will only see you in yours. If I see you through a compassionate lens then I will see you and meet you in a place of peace. @ Magic Kingdom

Hello! I don’t think I’ve properly introduced myself on this platform. My name is Teresa Gonzalez. I’m a mother of three beautiful sons, Jacob, Caleb, and Isaac. My other smaller roles: marathoner, chef, reader, photographer, writer, and yogi. I recently graduated from a life changing yoga teacher training program. I went in with the intention to learn yoga and it’s roots moreso for me. Little did I realize how profound this training would be for my healing and spiritual growth and expansion alongside 15 other beautiful souls embarking on this journey. My first yoga class was in 2001 when I was a personal trainer at Bally Total Fitness here in West Palm Beach. What yoga means has evolved for me throughout the years and after this training is so far from that once bleak and commercialized idea. Being a yoga teacher means first and foremost holding the sacredness of these ancient teachings within my practice first before imparting it to my sons and future students in a sacred way as well. It means continuing to learn beyond this training and continuing creating a sacred container for myself and all others with thoughtful consideration of where they may be in the realm of yoga, body type, cultural background, sexual orientation and identification, gender, age, abilities, and energetic and emotional places/places my students may be. It means teaching them the tools and their meanings and benefits imparted to me from this training be it pranayama, asana, meditation, mudras, mantras, chakras and the sacred history of where this all stemmed from 5,000 years ago. Being a yoga teacher to me is bringing it to my fellow Hispanic population who has yet to learn about yoga. I will help them tear down misconceptions and gift them a new way of thinking and being so they can soften the cultural toughness, offer grace, self-care, and awareness for a community who so little gives that care and awareness any mind through the constant hard work and sacrifices they make for their families. In turn they can begin to break generational chains and relinquish fallacies that will bring them and future generations peace and harmony and spinning our world into samadhi and service together.
@ West Palm Beach, Florida