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LAGUNA CANYON FOUNDATION
November 2009 E-Letter ___________________________________
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Coastal Prickly Pear, Opuntia littoralis, photo by Jennifer Wood, http://picasaweb.google.com/NatureInOrangeCounty.
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Nature yields her most profound secrets to the person who is determined to uncover them.
~Napoleon Hill, American writer and motivational speaker, 1883-1970 |
With its long, sharp spines, prickly pear cactus is an unlikely candidate for a diet staple. Yet for those who know how to get beyond the spines, its fleshy pads (nopals) and colorful fruits (tunas) make tasty delicacies. Long part of the Central American diet, they have gained popularity along with the region's various cuisines. Treated as a vegetable, nopals are boiled or grilled, then chopped and used in soup, salads, omelettes and salsa. The sweet tunas provide a base for jam, jelly, sorbet and candy. Recent medical research has shown that both nopals and tunas are high in pectin and soluble fiber. Both can naturally lower cholesterol and help stabilize blood sugar levels. In the wilderness, prickly pear is a food source for birds, mammals and insects. Leaving the harvesting to them will help us KEEP IT WILD!
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Laguna Canyon Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to preserving, protecting and enhancing the South Coast Wilderness.
Help Us KEEP IT WILD
 
Questions? E-mail Ellen Girardeau Kempler, Communications Director, Laguna Canyon Foundation, lagunacf3@lagunacanyon.org
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