Healthy Living & Healthy Hearing
September 22, 2023 | News
A healthy lifestyle, with good, nutritious food, fresh air, and plenty of exercise, is the most important keystone of good health. We always hear the advice that we should avoid smoking, excessive alcohol consumption, and other unhealthy habits to improve our general well-being. This advice is also important for hearing health.
The tiny blood vessels in our inner ears give us the ability to hear well, and they are sensitive. A habit like smoking may not seem to affect our ability to hear, but smoking does affect the ability of those tiny blood vessels to deliver oxygen to our inner ears. If our inner ears are deprived of oxygen, they can become damaged, leading to hearing loss.
Avoiding unhealthy habits is not the only way to achieve hearing health. A healthy diet is a proactive way to make sure our ears stay healthy! At the same time, a healthy dinner doesn’t need to be boring, bland, or complicated.
This recipe for blackened salmon with lima bean smashed potatoes is a dish that proves the point. The Omega-3 acids in salmon can help reduce alleviate swelling in the ears. Lima beans are rich in potassium, which aids in regulating the fluid in our inner ear.
Maintaining good hearing health also includes regular hearing health check-ups. A hearing test will show how well you hear currently, but it won’t show your history. If you get regular annual hearing tests, like you’d do for a dental exam, you’ll be able to see if and how how your hearing changes over the years. This is vitally important. Correcting hearing loss keeps you connected to the world, to your family, and to the people around you. An annual hearing exam is also a great time to learn about the latest and greatest in hearing technology. There are now more options than ever before. More adults, children, and people with unilateral hearing loss can now benefit from the improved speech understanding, universal connectivity, and sound quality provided by the latest hearing aid technology.
To explore the various options that are available and to learn more about the latest hearing aid technology, call the clinic at 705-360-6680 to book an appointment today!
Blackened Salmon with Lima Bean Smashed Potatoes
Ingredients
- 1 pound baby red-skinned potatoes, halved or quartered
- Kosher salt
- 1 1/2 cups frozen baby lima beans (about 6 ounces), thawed
- 1/2 cup fat-free sour cream
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 1 tablespoon paprika
- 2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme
- 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 4 skinless center-cut wild salmon fillets (about 4 ounces each)
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 3 scallions, sliced
- Lime wedges, for serving
Directions
- Put the potatoes in a saucepan; cover with cold water by 1 inch and season with salt. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to medium and simmer for 8 minutes. Add the lima beans; simmer until the potatoes are fork-tender, 4 minutes. Reserve 1/4 cup cooking water, then drain and return to the pot. Add the sour cream, 1 tablespoon butter, and the reserved cooking water. Season with salt and pepper and smash.
- Combine the paprika, thyme, cayenne, and 1 teaspoon salt in a bowl; sprinkle on both sides of the salmon. Heat the vegetable oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the salmon and cook until browned and just cooked through, 3 to 4 minutes per side.
- Stir the scallions into the potatoes and top with the remaining 1 tablespoon butter. Serve with the salmon and lime wedges.
