How Liver can Up-Grade your Energy, Gut health and Performance!
Organ meats are accepted as concentrated sources of several key nutrients applicative to athletes and health advocates. Liver is argued to contain the highest amount of preformed (bio-available) Vitamin A. Because Vitamin A can be toxic in large amounts, please go slowly and onboard the design that “less is more” in the liver arena.
There’s also a rich amount of magnesium, potassium, iron, phosphorus, Vitamin E and C (the percentage is dependent on cooking method).
I like to leave my liver a little underdone and if you are concerned about toxins accumulating in the liver and therefore you ingesting them from the animal - I am confident that the liver although it does neutralise toxins, it does not store them. Toxins are more likely accumulated in the fatty tissue and nervous systems of grain-fed and non-free ranging beasts. The liver is a beautiful cache for nutrients (B12, A, D, K, B9 and iron), vital to metabolic processes that eliminate noxious and toxic substances.
The chart above details a comparison of lamb’s liver and esteemed grass-fed beef, supporting the power of adding liver to your current eating.
Liver can be a laudable source of DHA! If you’re not a fish consumer, then perhaps this is the next best source over supplementation. However, to prosper from the DHA, the liver must be sourced from pasture-raised animals as they contain 2-4 times more omega-3 fatty acids than commercially-farmed animals. Personally I only advise for organic, pasture raised sources of all animal products.
Here is the recipe of one of my favourite ways to eat liver! This is my favourite way to eat liver as I support the recommendation that anyone eating a meaty diet that is low in carbohydrates must have fat as well. I’ll be writing on the Paradox of the Inuits in another Blog.
Lamb’s Liver Pate
Cook time: 35 minutes Serves: Approx. 6
Thyroid and Gut health. Choline, copper, B12, DHA.
Ingredients:
400g organic grass fed, hormone and antibiotic free lamb’s liver
8 garlic cloves, chopped
A generous amount of grass fed organic ghee, melted (once opened please store in fridge)
Hand Harvested Celtic Sea salt
12 tbsp organic turmeric powder or equivalent in fresh
A generous sprinkling of kelp and/or dulse flakes, or add crushed nori sheets.
Optional add-ins - chilli flakes, organic pepper, herbs of choice
Method:
Thermomix:
Fry the liver in ghee until almost cooked through - about 3/4 cooked. Add the garlic and continue cooking until the garlic is golden and the liver is fully cooked
Add the liver, garlic and juice to the thermomix bowl along with all other ingredients. Add a generous amount of melted ghee (almost half the glass bottle) and blitz together on speed 5/6 for 30 seconds
Scrape down the sides and add more ghee if needed and blitz again to create your desired consistency. It should be lump free and quite creamy
Taste the mixture and add your kelp/dulse flakes and herbs of choice if using
Once ready, spoon the pate into small containers, keep some in the fridge and freeze some for later. For the fresh batch you can use it as a dip with vegetable sticks, spread onto cucumber rounds.
Instructions without the thermomix:
Fry the liver in ghee until almost cooked through about 3/4 cooked. Add the garlic and continue cooking until the garlic is golden and the liver is fully cooked
Add the liver, garlic and juice to a good quality food processor along with all other ingredients. Add a generous amount of melted ghee and blitz together until combined
Scrape down the sides and add more ghee if needed, the continue to blitz until you create your desired consistency. It should be lump free and quite creamy
Taste the mixture and adjust if needed, add the additions!
If you are not ready for straight liver, grinding it up and mixing it with your favourite ground meat can be a great transition. The Paleo Mom has a few perfect recipes that you can find here;
https://www.thepaleomom.com/recipe-turkish-hidden-liver-meatballs/
Liver - provides the betoken of natural B vitamins, let it power your metabolism energy production and performance!