As a part of my quest to feed my mitochondria, I committed to adding beef liver to my diet. It definitely took me a while to make this happen, but I had ordered some from Tropical Traditions a few months ago and left it in my freezer for a day when I figured out what to do with it.
It’s important to buy good quality organic grass fed beef liver because although liver doesn’t store toxins, it does hang onto hormones and antibiotics (from factory farmed cattle).
Why liver?
Compared to apples and broccoli, beef liver is significantly higher in:
- Vitamin A (different forms to0)
- Vitamin B1
- Vitamin B2
- Vitamin B6
- Folate
- Niacin
- Pantothenic acid
- Vitamin C
- Magnesium (only slightly)
Of course, many sources warn that liver is high in cholesterol, but the funny thing is that our bodies produce significantly more cholesterol than what we ingest from food—generally, high cholesterol comes from the body not eliminating it effectively (to simplify: if you don’t eat enough healthy foods and fiber, cholesterol is not carried out of the body, and it recirculates in the blood).
That said, check with your doctor or a health professional who knows you and your health before you add something weird like liver to your diet (and pick a functional medicine doctor if you want someone who knows about food in relation to health!).
If you want the benefits of liver, about 4oz a week is sufficient. Let me tell you…this is a lot of liver. Liver smells funny. It’s a weird texture, and it tastes pretty yucky by itself. My Mom experimented recently with liver and onions, and not only was it gross, but the house smelled like liver for days. Blech.
I read somewhere that you could grate liver and add it to things like meatloaf and meatballs. I thought I’d try that…but I couldn’t find the grater attachment to my food processor, and I tried the hand grater but it didn’t work. So I threw the whole pound of liver in the food processor (it was semi-frozen)…and it ended up being pureed. I did not gag, but the texture was really awful.
This is what I made:
Meatballs {with beef liver puree}
1lb ground beef (grass fed organic, please)
1/4 cup pureed grassfed organic beef liver
1-2 tsp pizza seasoning
a few dashes of sea salt
a fea dashes of black pepper
Make meatballs! I sauted them in butter (Kerrygold is my brand of choice) and then baked them to finish cooking them through.
I ate two—and they were really awesome! Of course, I’ll have to eat a pound of meatballs to get that 1/4 cup of beef liver (which is definitely not even close to 4oz), but I have to start somewhere, and I figure it’s ok to take a few days to do it!
I know, they're ugly...but they're meatballs, so that's just a given. Besides, the lighting here is ridiculously bad in the evening. Take my word for it---they taste good
I'm just posting this for emphasis---because I wish I was still near the beach! I'll never criticize a pic for being too sunny!
News/Notes:
It’s a heavy work week—I have much to do, and enough time in which to do it. What a great thing!
I plan to work out several times, do yoga, and spend time in my sauna. We’ll see how all that plays out.
Have you ever tried beef liver or other organ meats? Would you?
