Here’s another vegetarian recipe from Chef Manolo – healthful and delicious lentil and mushroom burgers. The following recipe will prepare burgers for 6 people.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup mushrooms, sauteed in olive oil
• 1 cup cooked lentils
• ½ cup cooked brown rice
• ¼ cup ground peanuts
• 1 egg
• salt and pepper (to taste)

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

• ½ chopped onion
• ¼ finely chopped parsley

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

• Hemp seeds (to sprinkle)

Preparation:

1. Place the initial ingredients in a food processor and blend until you have a soft, paste texture similar to pancakes.
2. Pour this mixture into a bowl and mix in the chopped onion and parsley.
3. Form into small hamburger shapes using a kitchen scoop and then place in a pan preheated with olive oil.
4. Sprinkle hemp seeds on top, sautéing both sides evenly.
5. Taste and adjust the mix if necessary and then sauté the remaining burgers in similar fashion

Let us know how your lentil burgers turn out – and enjoy!

Sometimes it’s hard to believe how much cuteness can fit in the palm of your hand. Or how much fun you can have digging in the sand – especially when you’re helping to rescue and release baby sea turtles. This season, we’ve been organizing regular excursions for guests to get elbow deep in the sand, helping local researchers and preservationists to clean sea turtle nests – and giving the baby turtles a helping hand on their journey to their new home in the ocean. It’s an inspiring way to see the natural cycle up close, to learn about the turtles and their habitat, and to assist those who are making a real difference in sea turtle survival rates.

Local non-profit preservation group Asupmatoma works tirelessly to patrol Pacific beaches, relocate sea turtle nests to safe areas to ensure the highest yield among the eggs, assist the baby turtles as they hatch, and educate the public about these special creatures and the threats to their habitat. There are three primary turtle species that nest on the beaches near Prana del Mar – Olive Ridley, Leatherback, and Green turtles – with the Olive Ridleys (know as golfinas in Spanish) being the vast majority. All of these varieties are currently endangered, though conservation efforts have been fruitful in helping the populations to recuperate. By involving locals and visitors of all ages, Asupmatoma is raising awareness both in the local Los Cabos area and abroad – and creating special memories for people that will last a lifetime.

Each evening during nesting season, the biologists and volunteers from Asupmatoma scour the beach for the telltale signs of new turtle nests. They then carefully extract the eggs from their original locations and move them to a protected corral on the beach where they rebury them in the sand – taking care to create optimal conditions for maximum yield – to ensure their safety during the 45-day incubation period. It’s important to accurately replicate the conditions of a natural nest and to place them at a spot on the beach where the ambient temperature under the sand is in the low-80s (about 27° C). If the temperature is too high, then the majority of the hatchlings will be female; if the temp is too low, then the majority will be male. In the wild, anywhere from 10% to 50% of the eggs will hatch, depending upon conditions. At our local hatchery, over 80% of the eggs hatch with viable baby sea turtles.

As volunteers, we are lucky enough to assist the biologists in cleaning the nests to make sure none of the young turtles is left behind, digging down deep in the sand until we have removed all of the hatchlings, the remnants of their eggshells, and any infertile eggs. In nature, some of the last turtles to hatch often get buried under the weight of the sand as it compacts around them after their siblings have dug themselves out of the nest. So visitors are doing real rescue work as they clean the nest to make sure all survivors get the chance to make it to the ocean. The baby turtles often emerge from the nest a little groggy at first, but once they feel the sun on their shells and hear the ocean, they get pretty animated and their little flippers start propelling them around the small holding pen. An accurate count is made for the scientific records, and then we’re off to the shoreline to let them scamper free toward the next phase of their journey.

As the sun sinks low on the horizon, dipping into the Pacific, we spread the newly-hatched turtles along the sand about 30 feet from the water’s edge. Their instincts are strong and they immediately begin to scamper toward the water – several eager ones make a beeline directly for the surf and others who are still getting used to life outside the nest amble at a more moderate pace. It’s exciting to watch them paddle their flippers over the sand and inch their way towards the water, with the foam of each successive wave getting closer and closer to carrying them off into the Pacific. Though short, this journey across the beach is important. The turtles have subtle sensors on the undersides of their shells that imprints upon the texture of the beach. When the females become adults and are ready to create nests of their own, they will return to the same beach upon which they hatched some 15-20 years earlier – and will continued to come back each year to nest. Those 10 minutes of scuttling across the beach of their birth will stay with them for a lifetime – potentially 100 years or more – just as it has for the generations that preceded them.

It feels satisfying and humbling to witness such an important part of this cycle of regeneration and to realize that the same turtles released here throughout this season will continue to return for decades. One day, in fact, our great-grandchildren could visit this same coastline and witness the hatching of one of their future nests. With any luck – combined with the hard work and dedication of the biologists and volunteers of organizations like Asupmatoma – perhaps by then, they will no longer need a helping hand from us.

Yoga teacher Renee Gauthier is returning to visit us this December to host her second yoga retreat at Prana del Mar. She recently wrote an article on why she chose to schedule a retreat the week prior to Christmas and why she thinks it is so important to take a step back during that time of year – to reflect on the past, to embrace the present, and to set intention for the future.

 
December and I have a complicated relationship. Being raised with both Christmas and Hanukkah traditions, having my birthday right before Christmas, attending multiple holiday parties and New Year’s Eve, means that life in December teds to be extremely busy. It can be tiring just thinking about it!

It’s also an exciting time of the year and, mostly, I do love this season for the opportunities to see friends and family, indulge in yummy foods, and focus on my sense of gratitude for all the blessings in my life. The trick is how to enjoy the holidays fully without ending up exhausted. Therefore, I decided to organize a yoga retreat during the holidays as an alternative to all the busy energy of the season. To some, this seems like not-the-best time of year to retreat: too much going on, too much to prepare for, not enough money after buying all the presents. However, I figured there must be folks out there looking for a way to escape, relax, and recharge. Also, I led a yoga retreat at Prana del Mar this May and couldn’t wait to make another trip back! So here are 10 reasons to consider retreating this holiday season:

1. Invest in your well being.
   De-stress and recharge from daily life. When we take time to nurture ourselves, we are more productive, less likely to get sick, more relaxed, and happier. This energy has an impact on our work, our relationships, and our overall well-being.
2. Prepare for the new year with a renewed you.
   Take time to reflect on the past year. With time and space away from our everyday routines, we can focus on clarifying our visions and intentions for the coming year. This can be a time to jumpstart New Year’s resolutions that seem so hard to maintain. Our New Year’s resolutions then change from starting something new, to remembering and honoring the positive things we are already doing.
3. Avoid too many holiday parties.
   Don’t get me wrong. I love parties. And often I have a party in December. But with the numerous holiday parties out there, we can all get a little partied out. Having a special trip planned is a great reason not to feel obligated to say yes to all the holiday invitations.
4. Avoid the mall.
   Need I say more?
5. Treat your body to healthy, delicious meals while skipping the surplus of holiday treats.
   It’s difficult to say no to the abundance of treats around the holidays, as temptation abounds. When we surround ourselves with healthy, delicious, and beautiful meals, we are less inclined to crave unhealthy foods. And by retreating into a slower, more relaxed pace, we are more likely to be in tune with our body’s needs. The chefs at Prana del Mar are amazing! Each meal is an absolute treat to the senses. The colorful and beautiful presentations are exciting to see. And then sitting down to enjoy the array of healthy, clean, and creative delights is truly an inspiration to continue this way of eating after the retreat.
6. Be active in a beautiful place.
   For those of us who tend to slow down and feel less motivated in the colder winter weather, being in a warm, beautiful place can inspire us to be more active. Prana del Mar is an ideal place to enjoy the healing energy of being immersed in nature. The expansive beach, the deep blue ocean, the rugged desert landscape, and the fantastic mountain views all nourish the soul and invite us to be outside in nature.
7. Spare the environment from unwanted gifts and too much wrapping paper.
   Let’s face it. Re-gifting is kind of rude. But what do you do with those gifts that you really don’t need or want? And wrapping paper? Hopefully, it goes into the recycling, but not always, and even then it was created by cutting down a tree. Meaningful gifts are wonderful – especially those that you put particular thought into or even made yourself for someone special. Set an example of living simply and participating less in the consumer culture of holiday overspending on material items.
8. Come home feeling refreshed and re-energized and with more love and energy to give to your family and friends.
   I come from a large family and community of friends, so I understand the desire to be close to loved ones during the holidays. But so often many of us lose connection to our own rhythm while trying to keep up with so many social obligations. By taking a few days of tranquility for yourself, this not only benefits you, but also sets an example that it’s OK to take time and space to focus on your well-being. And when you return, refreshed and renewed, you will have more energy to share with your loved ones.
9. Reconnect with this part of yourself.
   Being on a retreat can help us to remember parts of ourselves that sometimes get lost in the shuffle of life. Slowing down, going inward and reconnecting with ourselves on a deep level can help us to remember the balance, inner calm, and harmony that’s already inside. We retreat to remember, and to carry that energy back with us into daily life.
10. Why not?

This retreat has already passed, but if you’d like to see other retreat that we offer, please visit our Calendar of upcoming retreats. Treat yourself to an amazing, uplifting and rejuvenating experience. We look forward to welcoming you!