I drank cactus liqueur in Gozo once. Actually, it was more than once because after the barman poured us our first shot, he kept the shots coming all night. I only mention this because that is the only time I’ve done anything with a cactus other than have it sitting spikily around the house while hoping remembering to water it once a year is enough to make it not die. Although, reading through Erbology’s info on nopal cactus, and how popular it is in Mexico, a vague recollection of eating a cactus quesadilla in a Mexican restaurant somewhere near Charing Cross is forming in my mind. Still, let’s just say my experience with eating or drinking cactus is limited.
Nopal Cactus
If we were in Mexico, we could buy nopal cactus from old women carrying it rinsed and cut into pieces in plastic tubs on their heads and selling it door to door (which would be more welcome than Jehovah Witnesses trying to force copies of The Watchtower on me, so maybe JWs would have more luck if they carried tasty cactus-based snacks with them), or at the markets in nearly every Mexican town (although I’m willing to bet I could probably find cactus in Walthamstow Market), or pickled and canned on supermarket shelves. Alas, though, we aren’t in Mexico, but you can still get the benefits of nopal cactus – which include:
- being high in dietary fibre including mucilage
- being hydrating for the skin
- being anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial
by buying Erbology’s Tigernut Granola and/or their Nopal Cactus Energy Balls.
Erbology Nopal Cactus Energy Balls
Erbology’s Nopal Cactus Energy Balls are made from all organic, raw, vegan, gluten-free, no-refined-sugar ingredients, being:
- apricots
- raisins
- Jerusalem artichoke
- pumpkin seeds
- sunflower seeds
- nopal powder
and they’re sweet and tangy with apricot being the main flavour, contain 72 calories per ball and are an ideal snack at any time or before/during/after a workout. Like Noah’s animals, socks and Ant and Dec (when Ant’s not getting pissed and crashing into people), they come in pairs, which you can buy as a one-off or as an every-two-weeks or monthly subscription.
Erbology Tigernut Granola
Tigernuts are not actually:
a) Tigers;
b) nuts; or
c) Tigers’ nuts
No, this isn’t a multiple choice question, this is fact. Tigernut is a root vegetable grown in a field and harvested in a similar way to a potato. Personally, I think they should have gone with the name ‘Tigerpotato’ because a) it’s far more catchy; and b) much more likely to make me buy it in the supermarket.
Tigernuts have reached that esteemed ‘superfood’ status, being high in vitamins, minerals, fatty acids and fibre and you can read more about their health benefits here.
Erbology have created their Tigernut Granola containing:
- tigernuts
- dates
- sprouted buckwheat
- apples
- raisins
- sunflower seeds
- chia seeds
- linseed
- nopal powder
- pumpkin seeds
- nutmeg
- clove
- cinnamon
- cardamom
- vanilla extract
- sea salt
Doesn’t that sound ridiculously healthy and just the thing to set you up for the day?
About Erbology
Siblings Irina and Victor Turcan found inspiration from their childhood memories of playing in the milk thistle fields and climbing their favourite black cherry trees in the old Bessarabian countryside while their babushka fed sunroot leaves and amaranth to the goats. Which sounds uncannily like my upbringing in east London. Not. Then again, I did climb up a lot of trees when I was younger, so maybe our childhoods aren’t that far apart after all.
Irina and Victor wanted to tap into the wholesome life they once enjoyed and to share it with the world and Erbology was born.
They don’t only sell cactus-based products – they have a huge range of snacks, juices, crackers, shots, oils, powders, flours, grains, nuts and berries, and you can find them all, along with further information and recipes, on the Erbology website.