Whether you’re preparing a picnic basket, setting the table on an outdoor patio, or just looking for some summery snacks to relax with after a day out enjoying the heat, we’ve got some new recipes for you that are filled with ear-healthy ingredients.

These recipes feature in-season fruits and veggies that also contain vital minerals and nutrients to promote hearing health.

Summer Tomato and Cantaloupe Salad

From MinimalistBaker.com

On a hot summer day, it’s not enough for your drinks to be refreshing — you want your meals to be refreshing too. This light summer salad will hit the spot and provide tons of vitamins and nutrients that support hearing health.

Plus, practically every major ingredient in this salad is chock-full of ear-healthy vitamins and minerals. Tomatoes are rich in folate, which increases circulation and helps your ears get the necessary nutrients for healthy functioning. Cucumbers contain magnesium to maintain nerve function and help protect the hair cells in the inner ear when exposed to loud noises.

They're both good sources of potassium, which helps regulate inner-ear fluids, and Vitamin C, which is a natural antioxidant that can help limit hearing loss.

To top it all off, cantaloupe is packed with folate, magnesium, potassium, AND Vitamin C — it’s practically a hearing health superfood!

Ingredients

Veggies

• ½ cup of cucumber (thinly sliced)
• ½ cup of cherry tomatoes (thinly sliced)
• ¼ medium red onion (thinly sliced)
• 1 Tbsp olive or avocado oil
• 2 tsp apple cider vinegar
• 1 pinch each, sea salt and black pepper

Dressing

• 3 Tbsp lime juice
• 1 Tbsp maple syrup
• 1 pinch sea salt
• 1 Tbsp olive or avocado oil

Cantaloupe

• 3 cups cantaloupe (cubed or scooped with a melon baller)
• 2 Tbsp fresh mint

Instructions

1. Add cucumber, tomato, and onion to a small mixing bowl and top with olive oil, apple cider vinegar, salt, and pepper. Toss to combine. Then taste and adjust flavors as needed, adding more vinegar for acidity or salt and pepper for flavor balance. Set in the refrigerator to chill.
2. Prepare dressing by adding lime juice, maple syrup, and sea salt to a small mixing bowl and whisking to combine. Then slowly stream in olive oil while whisking to combine. Taste and adjust flavor as needed, adding more lime juice for brightness/acidity, maple syrup for sweetness, or salt for flavor balance. Set aside.
3. In a large serving bowl, top cantaloupe with dressing. Gently toss to combine.
4. Add the cucumber-tomato-onion salad on top — leaving any excess liquid/dressing behind — then gently toss to combine and garnish with fresh mint.

This is best fresh, though leftovers keep in the refrigerator up to 3 days. Leave mint on the side to keep as fresh as possible.

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Whole Wheat Pasta Salad with Capsicum and Corn

From ArchanasKitchen.com

This recipe also features folate- and potassium-rich tomatoes, but there’s plenty of other ear-healthy ingredients here. For starters, whole wheat pasta is a great source of magnesium, which is important to preserving those inner-ear hairs responsible for detecting sound.

The sweet corn in this recipe is a good source of potassium, magnesium, and folate — all helpful to keeping your ears healthy.

The bell peppers (capsicum) are also excellent sources of the folate your body needs to keep your inner ear cells healthy and strong.

Ingredients

Salad

• 200 grams of whole wheat fusilli pasta
• 1/2 cup of sweet corn, steamed
• 1 tomato, chopped in large chunks
• 1 cup of red, yellow, and green bell peppers (capsicum), chopped
• Lettuce leaves, chopped
• 1/4 cup of coriander/cilantro leaves, chopped

Dressing

• 2 Tbsp of mayonnaise
• 3 Tbsp plain yogurt or plain Greek yogurt
• 3 cloves of garlic, pounded
• 1 Tbsp of extra virgin olive oil
• Salt and pepper, to taste

Instructions

1. Boil the pasta to al dente. Drain and add a little olive oil to prevent sticking.
2. In a large mixing bowl, combine mayonnaise, yogurt, pounded garlic, and extra virgin olive oil. Mix well. Add salt and pepper to taste and mix.
3. In another mixing bowl, combine whole wheat fusilli, sweet corn, tomato, lettuce, bell pepper, and fresh coriander.
4. Add dressing, toss, and serve.

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Summer Berry Trifle

From OnceUponAChef.com

Of course, it can’t all be salads and whole wheat — sometimes you need something sweet to beat the summer heat. When you need something healthy and sweet, there’s no better option than some fresh berries.

This recipe calls for strawberries, raspberries, and blueberries — all high in Vitamin C, an antioxidant that can help prevent ear infections and protect the delicate tissues of the ears from damage.

Strawberries are also good sources of folate and potassium.

Ingredients

• ¾ cup seedless raspberry jam
• 1 quart of strawberries, hulled and cut into ¼-inch slices
• 1 pint of raspberries
• 1 pint of blueberries
• 1 ½ cups of heavy whipping cream, cold
• 16 ounces of cream cheese at room temperature
• 1¾ cups of confectioners’ sugar
• 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
• 1 package of crisp lady fingers
• Fresh mint spring, for garnish (optional)

Instructions

1. Set aside a few berries for topping the trifle.
2. Heat the raspberry jam in a large bowl in the microwave for about 1 minute, or until hot and liquid. Add the remaining fresh berries and toss to coat. Let sit while you prepare the rest of the recipe, stirring occasionally.
3. In a large bowl, whip the heavy cream until stiff peaks form. Set it aside.
4. In another large bowl, beat the softened cream cheese with the powdered sugar until smooth and creamy. Beat in the vanilla, then beat in a third of the whipped cream. Using a large rubber spatula, fold in the rest of the whipped cream until well combined.
5. Cover the bottom of a 9-inch trifle dish or glass bowl with a layer of lady fingers (break into pieces as necessary). Follow with 1/3 of the berry-jam mixture (including 1/3 of the juices), then 1/3 of the cream. Alternate, ending with the cream cheese mixture on top; for the last layer of cream, leave a 1-inch border around the edge showing the fruit beneath.
6. Garnish with the reserved whole berries and a fresh mint spring. Refrigerate for at least 8 hours or overnight before serving.

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Love trying new seasonal recipes? Click here for other hearing healthy dishes for your summertime meal plan.