prickly pear cactus

This popular cactus can grow all over the world and is destined to be the next big herbal superstar. Each part of this plant is both food and medicine, and its been used for centuries. Antiviral properties used for herpes, flu, HIV, obesity, gastrointestinal disorders, cholesterol, and skin problems. The fruit of the cactus, which looks like pink easter eggs—also known as the pulp or tuna, can be eaten much like other fruits. They taste like raspberries and are SUPER high in antioxidants, vitamins and minerals like calcium, magnesium, beta carotene, potassium, cancer-protecting flavonoids and huge doses of vitamin C. Prickly pear fruit has been clinically shown to reduce cholesterol. Seeds can be ground into flour. The flat green pads contain a full range of amino acids, the building blocks of protein. It is extremely rare for a plant source to have this many amino acids. It’s very high in dietary soluble fiber, mucilage and pectin. Mucilage is the sticky juice that oozes from the pad when it is sliced, the same mucilaginous immuneboosting polysaccharide found in Aloe Vera. Studies have shown the prickly pear cactus to be effective against diabetes, even type II. Apparently, it helps the pancreas create insulin. Amazing. The juice can be applied to warts and consumed to work on kidney stones. Tea made from the pads are used for lung problems, prostate issues and diabetes. When harvesting cactus, use tongs. Maybe even have some super thick work gloves or welding gloves. There are the big sharp obvious spikes, but be aware that at the base of those are little teeny tiny hairs that stick in your skin and can drive you nuts. These are called “glochids” but who cares what they are called. Just be ready for it and be careful when handling cactus. The payoff is well worth it! Hose off the cactus pieces as much as you can with water somehow- in the sink or with a hose. Then scrape off the needles while holding with tongs. Some people carve out the base of each spine with a knife where the glochids are. Then peel off the skin to eat, or if you want a cactus smoothie, simply throw the whole thing in a Vitamix, skin, prickles and everything, run it on high speed for a while until everything is absolutely liquified. Then strain through a fine mesh strainer or nut milk bag and mix with fresh squeezed orange juice. Both the egg-shaped fruit and the flat pads can be eaten. People of many cultures peel the skin off the pads and cut them into strips to stir fry like any other vegetable. the flower can be added as garnish and eaten also. For pink lemonade- drop the pink fruit "eggs" into Vitamix blender with some lemon and optional honey, blend, strain out the prickles and you have amazing pink lemonade. The slimy inside can be mixed with water and used to wash and condition hair and even lather into a soap! The whole plant is edible.

References in periodicals archive

La dieta basica esta conformada por tortillas de maiz y alimentos recolectados del entorno, como nopales, tomatillos silvestres, quelites o "cabuchas" (flores de Ferocactus); o cultivados (frijoles, calabazas, chile) y se complementa con otros alimentos que se obtienen en las tiendas o a traves de los vendedores foraneos que visitan periodicamente la localidad:

Reproduccion social domestica de familias rurales en el contexto semiarido del noreste mexicano/Domestic Social Reproduction of Rural Families in Semi-arid Context of Northeastern Mexico

Recinos also believes in a hands-on approach to promotion and teaches his Plaza Latino customers how to use certain fruits and vegetables, such as nopales, by hosting cooking demonstrations on weekends year-round.

Latin Produce Goes Mainstream

The week following our discussions on nopales, Ines brought a pot of nopales guisados (stewed cactus) for the class to share.

Text matters: Mexican immigrant parents reading their world

Ada stirs the nopales, the baby pitches forward toward the fire and spoon, then arches her back, throws up her hands and whines.

Eating Earth

NUMBER OF SKUS 40,000 NUMBER OF CHECKOUTS 13 NUMBER OF GROCERY AISLES 9 WEEKLY SALES $350,000 * NUMBER OF EMPLOYEES 289 STORE HOURS 7 a.m.-midnight, daily STORE DESIGNERS Architecture Plus International (API) * Grocery Headquarters estimate PRICE CHECK EL FIESTA ITEM CARNIVAL RANCHO MART CUCUMBER 4/$1.00 4/$1.00 3/$1.29 LIMES 15/$1.00 25/$1.00 10/$1.00 BANANAS (LB.) 39 cents 3/$1.00 4/$1.00 PINEAPPLE $2.99 $2.49 $3.59 NOPALES (CACTUS) (LB.) 59 cents 79 cents 39 cents JALAPENOS (LB.) 69 cents 79 cents 89 cents BULK PINTO BEANS (LB.) 2/$1.00 2/$1.00 3/$1.00 ARMOUR LARD (4-LB.

Homestyle hispanic: with a village theme and traditional Mexican architecture, Minyard's new prototype addresses an important and growing customer base

* Nopales: Popular in the Mexican diet, nopales (nopalitos or cactus pads) offer many nutritious advantages and are a great option for patients with diabetes or high blood pressure.

Eating "green" for good health

Native American contributions to Tex-Mex include pecans, pinto beans, nopales, wild onions, mesquite flour, and agarita berries.

Tex Mex

This is why don't understand how you can put articles in your magazine such as the one I mentioned above and the one about Lupe Valdez and then turn around and put a full-page ad of Corona [beer] in the back page with an Asian man with Nopales on his head.

Ismael Leyva

I've found myself enthralled, for instance, by the frequency in the game of gastronomic motifs (churos, nopales, horchata, pozole), religious symbols and amulets (ex-votos, miracles, magic powder, the Virgin of Guadalupe), and pop icons axed the media (El Santo; Subcomandante Marcos, known as "El Sup"; TV soaps; comic strips).

Mexico's ritual of chance: in colorful cards and riddles that reveal this nation's psyche, two contemporary artists re-create the popular culture of loteria

What they say: Prickly pear cactus (nopales) regulates blood sugar when its fruit is eaten daily.

These three herbs are being marketed for type-2 diabetes ... but do they really work?

Aguila y Sol ushers hungry patrons into the new age of local cuisine and architecture, while thoroughly conserving its "Mexicanness." This local feel is illustrated in many ways, ranging from the restaurant's name--taken from the two sides of the 10-peso coin--to tasty servings of nopales, a vegetable not found outside our borders and uncommon in posh Mexican settings.

Aguila y Sol