I hate to demystify my life of a food and health blogger, but it is not always as charming as you might assume. I’m not usually working at cute coffee shops on sunny afternoons, and neither am I getting out of bed at 10 am and working in my picturesque pajamas.

Instead, if you peaked into my home during a typical day, I’m skittering around my house like that that proverbial headless chicken. I have at least seven tabs on my computer open, writing no less than four emails at a time (because focusing on just one email at a time would be too productive, evidently). And between emails, I’m jotting down pieces of three different blog posts, making a pot of tea, thinking about when/what I get to eat next, thumbing through a stack of review cookbooks, and procrastinating on answering text messages.

As a matter of fact, when things actually turn out as I think they should, I find it remarkable and notable. “Ta da, I just did it!” I applaud myself. “I just did blog-y things according to that exemplary stereotype I have in my mind!”

I found this recipe remarkable and notable for that reason. I felt randomly inspired, whipped out this recipe, loved it, photographed it, and ate it. And now I’m working at a coffee shop writing it up. And the only reason I’m focused is because this coffee shop doesn’t offer WiFi. Ta da!

Ginger Carrot Salad

This recipe takes a soy-free twist on the classic combo of soy and ginger. Coconut aminos taste uncannily like soy sauce, with the same umami profile and a slightly sweeter flavor.

The nutty, creamy addition of hazelnut butter makes the dressing evocative of satay sauce. I highly recommend using this properly soaked hazelnut butter (or you can substitute the soaked almond butter or soaked sunflower seed butter, available here as well). Soaking and dehydrating the raw nuts/seeds before grinding it into nut butter makes it vastly more digestible by reducing the enzyme inhibitors and phytic acid. It also makes the flavor smoother and slightly sweeter.

This speedy salad pairs beautifully with Paleo Asian Chicken Meatballs or another asian-inspired dish. Feel free to prepare the salad a day in advance, since the flavors deepen after the salad is chilled overnight.

Click here for the Paleo Chicken Meatballs recipe