As part of researching my contemporary novel, Sonora Symphony, I came across the following plants found in the Sonora Desert that were used by healers. Later, when the Spanish arrived and began to intermix in the southwest, curanderos continued to use and expand the uses of the plants. Homeopathic clinics have these available, to be perfectly honest, you can go to just about any supermarket or small store catering to Mexicans or other Latinos to find these available most often pre-packaged. Disclaimer: I am not a dietician or an expert of any form or nature about the preparation and use of these. I can only state that I have come to believe they work as the result of being married to a Mexican for the past 26 years. She regularly uses them and, when I pay attention and do what she tells me they work for me. I think the easiest to obtain and cook is nopal, the leaves of the prickly pear cactus. If you have any of your own, please add them here and I'd appreciate it if you'd add them as a comment to my blog A Soldier's Stories @ http://lvcabbie.blogspot.com
