Nopal: An ancient healthfood

If you were to go out into the brush almost anywhere around these parts and pick up a rock and toss it in any direction, chances are that you could hit a prickly pear cactus from where ever you are standing! Nopal, as we commonly refer to it, seems to be everywhere. The truth is that it is everywhere.
Believe it or not, nopal is a good thing. Without it, this area would not produce the huge trophy bucks that attract deer hunters and their $Bucks. Without it, cattle would not be able to survive during times of drought. So we see that in reality, the lowly nopal is actually quite valuable.
Another under-utilized benefit available from this prickly desert dweller is as a life saving health food for humans. Life-saving as in preventing diet-related cardiovascular disease and adult onset insulin resistant diabetes. Personally, I am convinced that most of the non-infectious diseases prevalent in our South Texas border culture are diet-related. We eat way too many fats, sweets, and starches, and get little, if any, exercise to burn all those calories. Don't get me wrong. I love our border cuisine. Moderation and variation in the diet combined with exercise is the key. You do not have to invest in expensive equipment or join a health club to work out. If you do, use your equipment and go to the gym often. One of the simplest things you can do to improve your health is to start walking on a regular basis. Walking just 30 minutes a day, several times a week, can burn nine pounds of fat in a year!
By now you are probably wondering what all this has to do with nopal. Well, to begin with, nopal is essentially a non-fat, high-fiber, complex carbohydrate energy food. It has always been and continues to be consumed by the native people of the Americas. In Mexico, nopalitos (the tender pads of the prickly pear cactus) are eaten the year around. Most of us have eaten nopalitos stewed with dried shrimp, tomatoes, onions, and spices during Lent (as if by eating them we are offering up some sort of self-sacrifice). As soon as the season passes, we forget about eating nopalitos until next year.
Scientific studies suggest that eating nopalitos can lower blood sugar, cholesterol, and triglycerides. This food is also effective in weight control. Other studies indicate that the nopal can be of benefit to the prostate gland in men. If someone told me that eating nopalitos could help regulate my blood sugar, lower my cholesterol, control my weight, and help protect my prostate, I would start eating them a little more often. The truth of the matter is that I eat them almost every day in one form or another. My wife and I absolutely love nopalitos in any way. We no longer buy bread. I make nopalito bread instead. We also enjoy energizing nopalito smoothies for breakfast. In fact I have over 100 recipes for nopalitos! You can add them to almost any dish.
The nopal that grows wild around here is known botanically as Opuntia lindheimeri and O. engelmannii. The nopalitos from these species are generally only available in the spring, and sometimes later if there is a second flush of new growth. These plants are heavily armed with sharp spines capable of inflicting severe pain and injury. Harvest these nopalitos with protective gear and clean them well prior to eating.
I prefer what are called "spineless" varieties of cactus, which lack the large, sharp barbs. They can, however, still have some tiny spines called glochids, which are a bit annoying when you get them on your hands. In Spanish these types are commonly referred to as nopal de castilla. These are the types generally sold already cleaned and diced in plastic bags at the local supermarkets or in Nuevo Laredo. Since I grow ten spineless varieties at home, I enjoy cleaning my own nopalitos. I find it relaxing and therapeutic.
Nopales are probably the easiest plants to grow at home. All you need is a mature pad to start a plant. Be sure that the pad has healed at the point it was cut away from the mother plant (about a week or so) before planting. Bury about one-third of the pad in the ground and orient it facing east/west for maximum solar radiation. Do not water until new growth is established or it may rot. Harvest the tender pads as desired. Wear gloves and use a sharp knife to clean the nopalitos.