Fertility Kitchen: Easy Grilled Lamb Hearts with Tzatziki recipe
If you’re asking questions like,
“Can I still get pregnant after 35?”
“How do I prevent recurrent miscarriages/pregnancy loss?”
or
“What kinds of foods should I eat for a healthy pregnancy?”
Then animal hearts are the answer.
If you are interested in extending your reproductive longevity, eliminating symptoms of estrogen dominance (like PMS, heavy periods, fibroids and more), improving progesterone production, and improving your overall energy and well-being, then again, animal hearts are the answer.
Why should you eat animal hearts?
Animal hearts are such a power-packed, nutrient-dense meat source that I incorporate regularly into my preconception, pregnancy and postpartum meal rotation. All types of animal hearts provide similar types of nutrition; they are a great source of protein, healthy fats, CoQ10, vitamin B12, B6, Riboflavin, Pantothenic acid, selenium, copper and phosphorus.
Although all of these nutrients are critical for healthy hormones and natural fertility, CoQ10 and B vitamins are the superheroes when it comes to supporting your egg quality and thus your progesterone production.
CoQ10 and B vitamins fuel Egg health
Your body (and that includes your ovaries) runs on the power of ATP generated by your mitochondria.
When you feel tired, sluggish and slow, it’s a sign that your mitochondria are not effectively producing enough energy.
Most human cells have around ~2000 mitochondria, but human egg cells have as many as 600,000!
When your mitochondrial energy production suffers, your fertility and egg quality can suffer too
ATP production is extremely important for highly metabolically active cells such as sperm and egg cells. When mitochondrial function declines, so does sperm and egg quality.
Because your mitochondria are responsible for carrying out all the essential tasks for the body, especially fertility, when their performance is suboptimal, well, so will your fertility be.
Without adequate mitochondrial function, egg cells are not able to generate enough ATP for their many many processes, and they are rendered unable to grow, divide or implant properly.
This impacts every stage of your conception journey from being able to produce enough progesterone to being able to effectively choose the best sperm, to being able to implant in your uterine wall after fertilization.
Side note: this is also one of the reasons I love FullWell Fertility’s new Fertility Booster supplement product- it’s filled with therapeutic doses of antioxidants like ALA, ashwagandha, CoQ10, and NAC to support and optimize the quality of eggs and sperm.
So, What types of animal hearts are best to cook with?
Personally, my preference is to use lamb hearts- they are flavorful, and provide a nice mixture of protein and fat (similar to that of a ribeye). Beef hearts tend to have a higher protein to fat ratio though they can easily be substituted for lamb hearts. Chicken hearts are best sautéed or skewered up for the grill.
How do you cook lamb hearts?
As with a lot of my cooking I love to incorporate traditional flavors found in Persian cuisine when I’m making recipes with lamb hearts. In the winter, I love enjoying lamb hearts slow-cooked (like in my Peachy Lamb Heart Stew that’s included in my Resilient Motherhood Recipe Collection) but in the summer, they are best grilled. On this post, I’ll share my seasoning/marinade recipe, how to prepare them for grilling and the tzatziki sauce recipe I enjoy them with. Get ready to drool!
Pro Tip: for best flavor, pre-season the lamb 1-2 days before. I like to season them right when I get home from the store so it’s one less step when I’m making dinner.
Recipe: Lamb/kabab seasoning:
Ingredients
3 tbsp ground sumac
3 tbsp turmeric powder
3 tbsp garlic powder
2 tbsp sea salt
2 tbsp onion powder
2 tbsp dried parsley flakes
2 tbsp dried mint leaves
1/2 tbsp dried thyme
Preparation
Mix it all together and use to season your meats! I especially loved it on lamb hearts and lamb chops but it would also make a great lamb meatball or beef patties too!
Recipe: Tzatziki sauce:
(prepare this before grilling the lamb hearts):
Ingredients
1 cup full fat plain yogurt
4 garlic cloves
Juice from 1/2 lemon
2 tbsp dried dill
2 tbsp dried mint (plus fresh if you have it in your garden)
Water to thin (only if using Greek yogurt)
Sea salt to taste
Preparation
Place all ingredients in a 16 oz jar and blend with a hand blender. Alternatively, you can add all ingredients to a food processor and blend.
Recipe: Easy Grilled Lamb Heart Kababs:
Ingredients
4 Lamb hearts
Juice of 1 lemon, freshly squeezed
3 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp sea salt (I use San Juan Island Sea Salt)
~3 tbsp Anisa’s Lamb seasoning
Preparation
Slice the lamb hearts in cross-sections, about 1 inch thick. Add to a large prep bowl.
Add juice of lemon, olive oil, sea salt, and lamb seasoning. Mix all together in the bowl with clean hands.
Cover and allow to marinate in the fridge for at least 4 hours and up to 2 days.
Line up on kabab skewers.
Grill on medium heat, watching closely and rotating as needed, for 7 minutes or until cooked to medium-rare (or preferred doneness). Note: because some parts of the lamb hearts are quite fatty (my favorite parts!), they can drip oil on the flame causing a larger flame and possibility of burning, so watch closely as mentioned.
Remove skewers from the grill and allow to rest about 5 minutes. Eat immediately and enjoy with a generous dollop of tzatziki. You should have enough for tomorrow's leftovers too!
Are you interested in learning more about how you can fortify your fertility and increase your chances of a successful conception and pregnancy?
I’ve included many more recipes just like this one in my Resilient Motherhood recipe collection that comes with 130+ recipes intended to nourish your body to become the most fertile ground to grow your future baby!
Not a fan of cooked animal hearts?
Well before you write them off completely, there are still so many other ways you can try to prepare them (check out my meal plans for more ideas) but I often recommend my clients take a desiccated organ-based supplement if they want the benefits of eating beef hearts without being able to stomach the idea of eating them.
One of my favorite desiccated organ supplement brands is Heart and Soil Supplements (<< my affiliate discount link). I particularly love the Heart and Soil Warrior formula (which has half-heart, half-liver) for my clients seeking to balance their hormones, improve progesterone production, and use food to prepare for pregnancy, recover from long-term birth control use and optimize fertility. Warrior is marketed towards athletic performance but I honestly think it’s one of the best options for supporting men’s AND women’s fertility (egg and sperm quality), although the Whole Package and Her Package formulas are also great choices for supporting male and female fertility.
