Cottage Yoga Retreat at Lac Pemichangan & Summer Slaw [Recipe]

I spent this past weekend working in Lac Pemichangan, Quebec.  Jackie Beaudoin, an Ottawa based yoga instructor, hosted and organized a weekend yoga/adventure retreat at her beautiful cottage, and I was there to prepare healthy, cleansing food for the participants. Thankfully I was able to spend a lot of time in nature and I also had the opportunity to share my love of healthy food with others, and because of that it hardly felt like work.

Jackie has travelled extensively in the past decade with her husband and her children.  Despite living in several countries and spending a great deal of time in transit between Canada and Europe, both yoga and her cottage have been constant fixtures in her life.  Regardless of where she was living, she remained dedicated to her yoga practice and, without fail, every year she made it back to Canada for summers at Lac Pemichangan.  Organizing this retreat allowed her to combine two of her favourite things.  

Jackie's cottage is truly a reflection of her personality. It's posh, full of character and has a warm, inviting energy. The eclectic and charming décor, along with the chill lakeside vibe, makes it the perfect getaway from the city.  This past weekend, the retreat participants spent their time stand-up paddle boarding, kayaking, canoeing, wake boarding, hiking, cliff jumping, relaxing by the lake, sleeping in the hammock, sitting by the bonfire, eating healthy meals, and they did a whole lot of yoga (Jackie offered a few relaxing and restorative practices and a few invigorating and energizing practices). As you can see in the photos below, we had an amazing weekend! 

One of Jackie's requests was that I make cleansing and detoxifying dishes, and if you read my recent post on this topic or if you've seen any of my recipes, you'd know that I was totally in my element.  As I always do, I was diligent about incorporating lots of healthy, whole grains, legumes and cruciferous vegetables. However, of all the dishes I prepared, there's one dish in particular that I want to share with you. My summer slaw! It's one of my favourite things to make during warmer months and I was delighted that everybody at the retreat loved it just as much as I do. Yes, it's delicious and exceptionally easy to make, but it's also incredibly healthy. The slaw's primary ingredient (as you might expect) is cabbage.  Like most cruciferous vegetables, cabbage assists the body's detoxification system and is an excellent source of vitamin C (red cabbage, in particular, will give you the most bang for your buck).  Cabbage is anti-inflammatory, high in anti-oxidants and is a great source of dietary fibre. With all that in mind, let's get to the recipe...

AMY'S SUMMER SLAW 

Makes 4 - 6 servings 

Ingredients: 

1 small head of cabbage* (approximately 2 pounds), finely sliced or shredded 
1/2 clove garlic, minced 
1 small apple, peeled and grated 
1 carrot, peeled and grated 
Juice of 1/2 of a lemon 
1 teaspoon, dijon mustard 
3 Tablespoons, extra virgin olive oil 
Sea salt and fresh ground pepper

Directions: 

Add all of the ingredients in to a large bowl, including a few big pinches of salt and pepper, and mix until well combined. Give it a taste and add more salt and pepper if needed. Mix again, and then enjoy this slaw on its own or as a side dish. Voilà, it's that easy! 

* I used a green cabbage at the retreat, but in the past, I made this slaw with red cabbage or nappa cabbage. Use whatever you have on hand!