Liver Smoothies

[nettlesoup]

Despite trying it a few times, I'm just not a fan of liver. I think it's a combination of the texture and taste I'm not keen on. But I'd really like to have it in my diet in some form. I've heard that raw liver smoothies are a good possibilty, but I'm a bit dubious.

So does anyone here drink raw liver smoothies? Are they actually nice or is it a bit of a task drinking them? What else would you put in the smoothie? I've recently got into raw egg smoothies, which are really nice, so I feel ready to be more adventurous and try the liver. Thanks for your help

[LCBMAX]

No idea about the smoothies, but if I could ever convince myself to eat liver, I might start with frozen liver grated on some other food. This is suggested as a baby's first foods by Fallon, I think, at the Weston A Price website. Maybe the combo of it being frozen and grated would change it enough for me... I'm not there yet.

(Frozen liver should be at least 2 weeks frozen, I think, to protect against some critter that can encyst and survive less time frozen and do you harm. I'd look into this too.)

[mbravebird]

Have you seen the references on here to people swallowing frozen raw liver "pills", made by just chopping the liver up into pill-size pieces? You can't taste it that way. That's how we do it. Although, after doing that for many years, I think I am ready to try to branch out to pate.

I also heard from someone that the awful texture that grossed me out last time I had it cooked was because it was not cooked slowly enough.

HTH...

[nettlesoup]

I've heard about the frozen liver pills, but I wanted to try it as a smoothie, just to see how it was. Maybe I cook it too fast as well; usually a couple of minutes on each side at the most. I make it rare, but the texture is still not great.

I think I may have to resort to frozen pill form, but I also want to make pate which could be nice.

[FairyRae]

http://communities.mercola.com/forums/t/368.aspx

Recipes for raw liver smoothies...

(totally joking, although I want to try this...)

[Rainbow2911]

I do smoothies. I just add a little raw liver to my regular smoothie. How much is acceptable varies. I am guess it has to do with my needs - sometimes liver tastes very strong to me and other times it barely has a flavour and I can put a lot into my smoothies. Also tried frozen liver pills but I found it a complete pain trying to get the pieces frozen seperatly.

[nettlesoup]

I might give it a go then, worth a try anyway!

[ASusan]

So easy, practically tasteless.

Put a 1-inch frozen piece of liver in the bottom of the blender. Add smoothie ingredients like banana, yogurt, oj, greens...blend.

[nettlesoup]

That sounds good, I'll give it a try!

[FairyRae]

Originally Posted by ASusan

So easy, practically tasteless.

Put a 1-inch frozen piece of liver in the bottom of the blender. Add smoothie ingredients like banana, yogurt, oj, greens...blend.

Seriously? Totally going to try it when my liver has been frozen long enough (will be 14 days monday...)

Also tried frozen liver pills but I found it a complete pain trying to get the pieces frozen seperatly.

I got this great idea from another MDC mama here: http://mothering.com/discussions/sho...3&postcount=41

here's how i do my 'pills'. i use to thaw it and cut up a bunch and then freeze them. it was messy and smelly. now i thaw the liver, spread it out flat, put it in a ziploc bag and refreeze it being careful to keep it flat while it refreezes. when it's flat like this i can pull it out cut off a strip and cut that up into tiny pieces with out thawing it. so much less messy and less disgusting too.

[LCBMAX]

Well, I'm amazed but just reading some of the recipes and hearing that others have gotten from yuck to palatable in a few easy steps... I'm closer than ever before.

Anyone have any info or opinion about buffalo vs beef?

[nettlesoup]

I finally got the courage to give it a try and it's actually not bad! I've been making a smoothie of banana, egg, yoghurt, maple syrup and a bit less than a tablespoon of frozen raw liver. I can't even taste the liver, especially if I add strawberries, so it's become my morning smoothie every day.

The thing that finalyl scared me into it was when I found that my teeth has started to look transparent, having been using a homemade toothpaste. So now I'll try anything to help heal them, even raw liver! Thanks again for all the advice

[FairyRae]

Well, I made a liver smoothie yesterday (w/ less than a tsp raw, frozen liver) and I could taste it in every sip. (Ds said it tasted weird as well, and I totally didn't tell him I'd done anything different--he will eat liver in spaghetti sauce, etc though at least... ) I really really dislike the flavor of liver though, and it was just a slight hint of it--but it was enough for it to be gross to me.

But I did a frozen liver 'pill' today--was painless, and I didn't even taste it. Will be continuing w/ this method for sure.

Glad everyone is finding ways to get this nutrient dense food down!!

[nettlesoup]

That's weird because I couldn't taste it at all in a 400ml smoothie. Berries seem to hide the taste quite well for me.

[FairyRae]

I really REALLY dislike the taste of liver. I won't eat it, even if its a tiny bit in some ground meat in a pasta sauce, etc. I can taste the hint of it, and that is enough for me not to want to eat it. Dh and ds usually don't notice. Maybe if *I* wasn't the one putting it in there, I wouldn't even notice it...

Ds is variable w/ drinking/eating things regularly, he could have said the smoothie was 'weird' b/c he didn't feel like drinking it atm...

Whatever works! I can see how someone wouldn't notice the liver, but b/c I KNOW it's there, I can still taste a bit of it, and that is enough to make me not want to drink more...(although I drank the whole thing, just holding my breath...)

[Zoeanne]

I grind up the liver ahead of time, then freeze it in an ice cube tray. Then I just add one cube to the smoothie. This initial step is a little messy, but saves time/mess in the long run. About 1 T or less per serving, and it's (mostly) undetectable.

I have been wondering about something...a couple of yeas ago, ds had iron-deficiency anemia, and I read that calcium and dairy products blocked the absorption of iron, so should not be consumed with iron sources. I was also told vitamin C helped with absorption of iron.

But the realmilk.com site says "Lactoferrin, destroyed during pasteurization...contributes to iron assimilation, " so maybe raw milk doesn't count?

Anyone have more info?

[nettlesoup]

I think raw milk is fine. I saw in 'Cure Tooth Decay', he recommended a smoothie of I think raw milk, raw egg and raw liver and cream, so it must be fine. Annoyingly raw milk is illegal here in Scotland, so I don't have that option