Chicken Liver Pâté For Babies, Kids, and Adults!!
Ok... I know you are taking one look at the title of this post and are probably already disgusted, unless of course you are a liver lover. I have to be honest, I'm definitely not in love with liver. I didn't grow up eating it, and it is pretty difficult for me to get it down. Most of the time I add in a desiccated liver supplement like this one because it's a convenient way to get in my weekly dose of liver without having to stomach it. Of all superfoods liver is definitely on top of the list. Some of the many benefits of liver include:
- An excellent source of high-quality protein
- Nature’s most concentrated source of vitamin A
- All the B vitamins in abundance, particularly vitamin B12
- Great source of Folate
- A highly usable form of iron
- Trace elements such as copper, zinc and chromium; liver is our best source of copper
- An unidentified anti-fatigue factor
- CoQ10, a nutrient that is especially important for cardio-vascular function
- A good source of purines, nitrogen-containing compounds that serve as precursors for DNA and RNA.
You can learn more about the amazing benefits of liver here. It's pretty obvious the nutritional benefits of liver and why it is so important for us to try and get this amazing food into our diets. And, the earlier you introduce it to your children the more likely they will begin to enjoy and even love the taste of liver! Creating food that was baby friendly was actually what inspired me in the first place to create a liver pâté that was not as strong tasting and could be enjoyed by even those who have never had liver or don't like liver. My littlest one who is 11 months now loves liver and eats it at least several days each week. The pâté is also great for babies because is requires no chewing. My older daughter enjoyed this recipe and ate it by the spoonful plain. My boys on the other hand needed some gluten free crackers to take a couple bites. I urge you to venture out of your comfort zone and try this recipe. Then on your own experiment adding different spices, vegetables and butter to your liver to make it more palatable. Don't let one or two times trying liver turn you off of this amazing superfood forever!!!!!!!
Yields: Approximately 2 cups
Ingredients:
- 3/4lb Pastured Chicken Livers (beef liver can be substituted but will have a stronger taste)
- 6 TBSP Grass Fed Butter
- 1/2 Large Apple peeled and sliced
- 1/4 Large Visalia or Sweet Onion diced
- 1 c Roasted Butternut Squash cubed
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 1/8 tsp nutmeg
- 1/4 tsp sea salt
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
Directions: Peel and cube butternut squash and roast at 375 degree F with a little ghee or coconut oil until slightly tender but still firm ( around 25-30min). While the squash add 2 TBSP butter to saucepan and add onion and apple cook until onion is translucent and apple is tender. Set apples and onions aside. Add in an additional 2 TBSP butter to same pan and chop the livers and add to the pan and sauce when livers are cooked through add in spices, butternut squash, apples and onions and continue to cook for an addition 5 on medium heat. When finished cooking let mixture cool for about 10 min then add everything to a food processor or high speed blender. Add in the last 2 TBSP of butter and blend until completely smooth with no pieces or chunks present.
**Serve warm or cold. Since I make this for my little one I like to separate into about 1/3 cup servings and freeze. I will take one out of my freezer to thaw and feed it to eat over the week. Just a little tip that the taste of liver will become stronger the more days it sits in the fridge so if you are new to liver or don't like much of a liver taste it is a good idea to take what you want and eat immediately and freeze the remainder!!!
