Liver-loving foods (and lemon-garlic brussels sprouts!)

Image: What's Gaby Cooking

Image: What's Gaby Cooking

Food is a great place to start supporting your liver.

First, let’s talk about what to avoid.

As per my last post, you’ll want to lessen the stress on your system by skipping out on deep-fried, processed foods, and avoiding refined sugar.

Next, some foods to start including in you diet on a daily basis:

Cruciferous Vegetables

Broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, kale, Brussels sprouts  and other members of the Brassicaceae family are full of fiber and antioxidants, and have been proven to reduce the likelihood of liver disease and cancer.

Citrus fruits

Vitamin C is a powerful antioxidant, and citrus fruits are extremely high in vitamin C. Eating an orange or grapefruit as a snack is a great way to up your Vitamin C level, as is squeezing half a lemon into a glass of room-temperature water and consuming every morning.

Garlic & Onions

While they’re not great to eat if you’re planning any close-talking, garlic and onions activate the enzymes in your liver that help it flush toxins.

Now, make this dish because it contains all three groups of food you should be including in your diet on a daily basis!

Lemon Garlic Brussels Sprouts

Adapted from What's Gaby Cooking

INGREDIENTS

  • 2 lb Brussels Sprouts

  • 4 tbsp olive oil

  • 5 cloves garlic, minced

  • 1 lemon, juiced and zested

  • sea salt

  • Pepper

INSTRUCTIONS

Clean the Brussels sprouts by trimming off the ends and peeling the outer layer of the sprout off.

Cut each one in half.

Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium high heat.

Once heated, add the halved Brussels sprouts to the pan and sauté for about 7-8 minutes on each side until the outer part is a caramelized brown and the inside is soft and fully cooked.

Add the garlic half way through the cooking.

Reduce the heat to low and add the lemon zest, juice, salt and pepper.

Stir to combine and taste. Adjust seasoning if needed.

Steph Bowen