A Houseful of Love

While many of my recipes tend to be low(er) carb, we’re a family of carb lovers at our core. Pasta night will always be a favorite, so I turned a “guilty pleasure” into a nutritional powerhouse, thanks to my secret ingredient. To my surprise, this ultra-healthy sauce is also the most flavorful and delicious bolognese I’ve ever had! Now it’s the one my husband always asks for (and my baby always wants seconds of).

This took us all by surprise – because the secret ingredient is LIVER!

Before you click away, hear me out. I was hesitant at first too. You won’t taste it. The other flavors completely mask it and because it’s pureed, it blends right in visually and texturally as well. Like sneaky hidden vegetables, hidden liver simply contributes a ton of nutrients, while remaining undetected – you can think of it as nature’s multivitamin!

I won’t go into all the benefits of liver here, but both the Weston A. Price Foundation and Lily Nichols do a great job summarizing the benefits of liver. They were the ones that convinced me that it was essential for me to at least try to eat it and serve it to my family occasionally.

Anytime I’ve looked into how to deal with various health issues with diet changes, it seems like liver is always one of the foods mentioned. It’s amazing how regularly consuming liver supports the body’s function in so many ways, from preventing anemia to strengthening bones to improving brain function and energy. And while this is just our experience, we’ve felt so much more healthy and vibrant since we started our liver journey.

Luckily, it’s easy to get started with hidden liver!

If the liver is what helps us detox, doesn’t that mean it’s full of toxins?

Nope! The liver is full of the nutrients that help your body get rid of the toxins, but it does not store the toxins itself (it’s not like an air filter). Instead, it’s packed with fat-soluble vitamins A, D, E, and K that are sorely lacking in the standard American diet, as well as choline, B-vitamins, and minerals – all in the most bioavailable forms (unlike most supplements). By eating liver, you are supporting your own liver!

That being said, try to find a reputable source for your liver. I get mine from a local butcher who serves small farms in our area, as I detail more in my pan-seared beef heart post.

Too much vitamin A?

When I was pregnant, I wrote off any advice to eat liver because the OB I saw (before switching to the midwife group at the same hospital) gave me a nutritional pamphlet that said not to eat liver because it is too high in vitamin A. Oh, how misguided that advice was!

The sad fact is that the risk of being vitamin A deficient is far greater than the risk of overdosing from liver, especially for pregnant women because vitamin A requirements in pregnancy are so high. In her book Real Food for Pregnancy, Lily Nichols points to a study that found “that one-third of pregnant women were borderline deficient, despite having access to plenty of vitamin A-rich foods.” This is horrible – vitamin A is essential for the proper formation of the major organs, including lungs, heart, kidneys, and eyes!

Of course, use your best judgement and don’t overdo it. There can be too much of a good thing! Since I’m no dietician, I can’t tell you what that means for you. However, Lily Nichols recommends that pregnant women eat about 3-6oz of liver per week. While I’m not pregnant at the moment, I find that my body seems happy with that amount (and too much more than that feels like “too much”).

A note about gout

My husband has had some gout attacks over the years, though he’s controlled it with diet in order to stay off medication. For anyone who has struggled with it, you know that doctors tell you to stay far away from organ meats because they are high in purines. Naturally, he was very skeptical about trying any when I started to cook with liver. However, he eventually tried some (fully expecting to wake up the next morning with a throbbing toe). To his surprise, there were no issues! We’ve gradually ramped up our liver consumption to 3-6oz per week and his gout has yet to flare up.

Of course, this is only his experience, so proceed with caution. However, there seems to be some emerging science to back this up, as Dr. Paul Saladino (the doctor who wrote The Carnivore Code) discusses in this video.

Ingredients

• 2 tbsp butter – extra virgin olive oil or another fat would work too
• 1 onion, finely diced
• 3 large carrots, peeled and finely diced
• 3 stalks of celery, finely diced
• 4 cloves of garlic, minced
• 2 lbs ground beef – I like 80/20, but it would probably work with a leaner blend as well
• 8 oz pureed liver – you can use less if you’re still getting used to it or more if you like a bit more.
• 1 cup bone broth – I use my chicken bone broth, but another broth would work as well
• 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
• 28 oz crushed tomatoes
• 12 oz tomato paste
• 1/2 cup whole milk
• 1 tbsp dried oregano
• 1 tsp allspice (not pictured) – optional, but highly recommended if you add liver! It completely hides any of the liver flavor, which makes it easier if you’re not used to it yet or not a fan of liver.
• 1/2 tsp dried parsley
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 2 tsp salt
• Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Directions

Step 1: Heat a large sauce pot over medium heat. Melt the butter in the pot.

Step 2: Add the diced onion, carrots, celery, and garlic. Cook 10 minutes until softened, tossing occasionally.

Step 3: Once the vegetables are soft, add the ground beef and liver. Break into small pieces and cook until no longer red.

Step 4: Add vinegar and bone broth. Bring to a simmer and cover. Cook for 30 minutes over low-medium heat.

Step 5: Add the crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, milk, and spices. Stir until fully incorporated. Bring back up to a simmer and cook uncovered for 45 minutes on low heat until thickened.

Step 6: Make your preferred noodles (I love this recipe for sourdough pasta) and serve with a generous helping of sauce.

Optional: Top with desired toppings – fresh basil and grated parmesan are some of my favorites.

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Nutrition Facts

Amount Per Serving
Calories: 362 kcal
Fat: 22g
Total Carbohydrates: 18g
Fiber: 4g
Protein: 25g

The nutrition data provided here is for informational only and is only an estimate based on an online nutrition calculator. It cannot be verified or guaranteed, and should not be used in the treatment of medical conditions. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice This data should be interpreted and used at your own risk.