Whatever
you call it, that ubiquitous cactus that is probably hanging out in more back
yards than many of us realize, is packed with superfood nutrition. The leaf
or “pad” of the
nopale is believed to
support many aspects of health and well being such as weight loss, blood
purification, maintaining blood sugar balance, and more. My personal
philosophy is that nature designed the nopale to provide good, somewhat
complete nutrition in climates where growing and cultivating food, and
finding an abundant water source may be a challenge. In any case, I feel
extremely lucky to have two nopale trees in my food garden. They are going
crazy right now producing more nopales than we can keep up with. In the
spirit of water conservation, food sustainability, and good health, why not
explore how many accessible nopales are growing in your world? Here is a
simple, very traditional egg recipe for enjoying fresh nopales from
your garden. Be sure to cut the nopale when the leaf is still young and the
thorns are still soft to the touch. Once the thorns have become wooody and
hard, the nopale leaf is too mature for culinary enjoyment. You can cut
nopales, clean, and cut into “nopalitos,” basically cleaned and cut
up nopales, and store them in an air tight bag or container for up to a week
or two. Read More