This month’s Recipe Redux theme is “No Bake Meals.” With an abundance of fresh vegetables in season, why not use a variety of flavors, textures and colors to brighten your meals? One of my favorite summertime sides or meals if I top it with a nice source of protein, is a fresh salad. Typically I throw in a variety of ingredients so each one is different. Tonight’s ingredients:

• fresh lettuce mix
• red cabbage
• red bell pepper
• Brazil nuts
• feta cheese

Lately I’m hooked on Brazil nuts, which have a light, yet rich flavor and have more magnesium than any other nut (a mineral many people fall short on). I also added U.S. grown red bell pepper to this salad not only for it’s bright color but also because it lends a sweet flavor and fabulous crunch. And, feta is my cheese standby in salads. My dressing of choice when I use salad dressing (sometimes, not always) – aged balsamic vinegar and cold pressed extra virgin olive oil.