Continuing with our popular series of outdoor videos that teach wild foods and self-reliance, today I’m posting two short videos:
- Yaupon Holly (the first video below) is the only native plant in North America that’s a natural source of caffeine. It can be used to make a cheap source of “coffee” or tea, especially in survival situations. Don’t expect it to taste like premium coffee, however.
- Nopal Cactus provides a nutrient-rich “superfruit” in the summer. This superfruit is rich in anthocyanins, which are potent antioxidants. It’s well known to help prevent type-2 diabetes by regulating blood sugar. Nopal cactus fruit can be harvested with tongs, blended in a Vita-Mix and squeezed through a nut milk bag to make nopal cactus fruit juice. (Have some tweezers handy to pull the tiny spines out of your skin, of course.) This cactus fruit isn’t very sweet, so you’ll need to add a natural sweetener like honey.
These are both part of the ongoing Health Ranger Science series of educational videos that introduce people to wild foods, natural medicines and living in harmony with nature.
Watch both videos below:
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