#1 Ingredient: Loving Intention (A Xanadu Recipe Recap)

If you’ve never set foot in the kitchen at The Hideaway at Xanadu let me just tell you- it is like stepping into Grandma’s kitchen! You are enveloped with not only the warmth and smells of our latest culinary endeavors, but also a sensation of being surrounded by all the loving hands that have prepared meals here.

Cozy Autumn Wild Rice Soup welcomed everyone on retreat arrival night (Spoiler alert: Old Bay is the secret!). Shredded chicken is a nice addition if you’re a meat eater.

Nothing like waking up to an egg bake! Here’s one of the recipes we used this year: Dairy Free Breakfast Casserole.

I switched it up this year and held a workshop in the dining room: Mindful Connections Through Meals. I loved hearing more about everyone’s background and how it has affected their cooking and eating experience.  We chatted about the value of pouring love and mindful intention into our meals and how our children notice these things.

We also made one of my favorite recipes: Perfect Paleo Chicken Salad. (The homemade mayo is amazing!).

A simple salmon recipe with oven roasted seasonal veggies capped off our Friday evening after a chilly day of horseback riding adventures.

I typically make oats on the stovetop, but for a group this size we used the slow cooker so we could wake up to a ready breakfast.

For one person, start with

1/3 cup rolled oats

1/3 c almond milk (or preferred milk)

1/2 ripe banana

1/2 tsp cinnamon

dash of cardamom

1/2- 1Tbsp ghee

Cook over medium heat, stirring frequently. As the liquid cooks down, gradually add about 1/3 c water. I love to top mine with more cinnamon, a drizzle of almond butter, and a sprinkle of walnuts. Enjoy! (This sweet & simple recipe is from Sabrina Bawa).

Paleo White Chicken Chili is another favorite recipe I shared with the group, along with Quinoa Vegetable Soup (some people combined the 2 and loved it!).

The last morning of our retreat we all gobbled up the Maple Pecan Breakfast Bake, along with Nicholl’s incredible veegie scramble.

Food is one of my favorite parts of the Xanadu retreat each year, and this year the kitchen team’s support was no less than incredible! Endless thanks to Nicholl & JennieRuth for all their hard work!

Cooking for a group of women who truly appreciate it is an absolute blessing and I hope we have many more years of this to look forward to.

Enjoy!