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Naturally Hydrating Pocono Maple Water: Plan Your Visit Today · Healthy Happy Wise Wealthy

• [Mary Meyer] Welcome to Healthy, Happy, Wise, Wealthy, the podcast where we talk about how to make our lives happier, wiser, and wealthier, but first, it all begins with our health. I am your host, Mary Meyer. Welcome back to Healthy, Happy, Wise, Wealthy. I have with us today Nicole Bentler with Pocono Maple Water, Pocono Mountains Maple Water. And Nicole, before we start, just want to mention we have the podcast sponsor, Mindii, M-I-N-D-I-I, which is an IT company, about 50 people out of India, so they are available to help businesses with all of their IT needs. All right, so Pocono Maple Water. So you guys have a big farm, right, of maple trees? [Nicole Bentler] Yes, we are one of the largest organic maple farms in Pennsylvania. We have about 450 acres, so we invite people to come to the farm and do tours and tastings and try, you know, the maple water and also maple syrup. [Mary Meyer] Nice. So tell me about the maple water. I know before we started recording, you were saying that it isn't actually, it's very, it has a lot of electrolytes. [Nicole Bentler] Yeah. [Mary Meyer] Not super sweet. [Nicole Bentler] Yeah, so essentially, you know, a lot of times people hear maple water and they think like, oh, it's going to be like maple syrup. And truthfully, it's not. It's only 2% sugar and it has a very subtle maple finish, but it's very similar to spring water. Essentially, it's one of the cleanest sources of water you get on the planet because it's getting filtered by the tree itself. So you're getting all those natural occurring minerals and elements that are coming from the soil. So you're basically, we're taking what the tree gives us and we literally send it to a door. So yeah, so it's just really amazing. It's also super hydrating because you have all those minerals and it's really a clean source. You're able to really feel hydrated a lot quicker. [Mary Meyer] Yeah. And I was so excited to have you on because I know so many of the products that are in the grocery store that seems like everyone I know buys that are supposed to be electrolytes are trash. [Nicole Bentler] Yeah. There's so many fillers and you got to be so careful and even bottled water. You know, we talk about, I hate to bring it up because I feel like I always like bring them up, but like Fiji water, like a Fiji water is really coming from Fiji. Do we want to be drinking it? Like it's sitting probably on a container ship for, you know, God knows how long before it actually gets to you. And then also like when you're, you know, in the gas station or CVS or wherever you're grabbing a quick beverage from a lot of times there's not a lot of transparency in the beverage world. So with us, that was like kind of one of our big things is talking more about that and like what's in your water and like, where is it coming from? The same way we care about the source of our food and where, you know, our produce is coming from or where our meat or eggs or dairy is coming from. So same idea, same concept, but also in our beverages because, you know, it's super important to making sure that you're drinking a clean source of water. And I feel like we started on this journey five years ago and nobody really cared. And now I'm seeing it more and more like everywhere, like the microplastics and this was tested in this water and this water is not that great anymore. And so I think it's just one of those hot button issues. And we're so excited to have an option for consumers that is super healthy and hydrating. And you know, you can visit the farm where it's actually coming from and getting a chance to see the land. And the same thing with the maple syrup is coming in and really understanding like how maple syrup is made because a lot of people don't really understand. Maple water is the very first product that comes out or sap. And then you boil that down to make maple syrup. So maple syrup is a concentrate of maple water. [Mary Meyer] So that's yeah, so I didn't know that. [Nicole Bentler] Yeah, no, a lot of people don't because you climb trees as a kid and, you know, pine trees, especially like they have that really thick sap. So so yeah, so it looks like, you know, that's kind of what would come out, but it's actually water. And then we boil that down to make maple syrup. [Mary Meyer] Yeah, I love that. Well, and I might my journey, I think with health started in the 1990s with having to eat better quality organic, or I just don't feel good. And and all the way through, in fact, right now I'm in a situation where I feel like everyone is spraying chemicals to stay healthy. And that drives me up a wall with all the toxic cleaners and stuff like that doesn't drive me up a wall makes me sick, makes me actually sick. And it makes them sick too. So there's still like this, I feel like there's so much information out about how to get back in touch with nature, how to eat organic, how to do these things. And yet it still feels invisible. [Nicole Bentler] Yeah, no, no, and I think that that's we talk about, you know, I think just kind of getting back to basics. And, you know, we really concentrate on like the New York and the Philadelphia and the Northeast market, just because, you know, the Pocono Mountains, people are people pretty much know about the Pocono Mountains, you know, people go there for the clean air and the fresh water and the great produce. And the biggest thing is like sourcing and being able to buy what's in your backyard, you know, a lot of times people will bring up like, well, is Vermont better maple syrup is New Hampshire may be able to be like, whatever is like the closest to your family. That's what you should be buying. Like if you've got a local farmer down the road that you can, you know, buy from that's going to be the freshest source that you can give to your family. So so we kind of talk about that a lot and, you know, kind of being able to visit to the farms, which I think we've we've kind of gotten away from as a society, you know, everything has to be either ordered online or go to a big grocery store. And what I think is really magical about the farm itself is that you can come and you can see where your water is coming from. You can see where your maple syrup is coming from. We do like a little bit of produce for like retreats and things like that. We do have a campground and we host a lot of retreats and family reunions and things like that. So sometimes depending on what season it is, we'll have some stuff from the garden where they can, you know, also do some like farm to table dinners, which is really magical. We don't offer them a lot. But when when we when we do it, it's usually one of the highlights of the summer. [Mary Meyer] That sounds so fabulous. So much fun. [Nicole Bentler] Yeah. What got you into this? It is one of those weird things that kind of landed in our laps by accident. And everyone's like, how did you end up with a 450 acre farm by accident? And it really kind of fell into our laps. And it's been so funny because the universe, you know, I don't know how by accident it really was because my great grandfather actually used to collect sap with my grandmother and would, you know, make maple syrup. And I was not, you know, raised in that my my grandfather and my father's side, you know, he did more like chickens and things like that. So there was always an agricultural background. But my background's health, wellness and fitness. And so we kind of got this maple syrup and maple syrup farm and I kind of started helping my family with it. And what was amazing is real maple syrup is so good for you. And it gets like a bad rap because a lot of the stuff that's in the store has corn syrup and preservatives and most of it's junk. But if you're really eating real maple syrup, it's one of the cleanest sources of sugar you can get on the planet. It's it's super good for you. Very similar to honey. Really great immune benefits. Really great has manganese, which is really great for joints and stiffness and things like that. Also really great for your skin. So I know a lot of people that put it in skin products or I make masks. We do a fall festival and sometimes I'll make little mask jars for the girls, which is like pumpkin and maple syrup. And it's so good for your skin. So yeah, a lot of people just don't realize how good it is for you. So it was kind of one of those things that I got super excited about once I kind of learned like, oh wow, like this is really amazing. And I think the educational component too, it's been amazing being able to bring you know, homeschooling groups and kid groups and things like that out to the farm and then getting to see the land, especially if they're coming from New York or Philadelphia. A lot of times they don't get a chance to really get out and, you know, be surrounded by nature. So it's it's been such a magical journey to where we are today. You know, we've had the farm for a little over eight years now. And it's and it's been pretty, pretty remarkable. The the way that things have kind of yeah, that's so great. [Mary Meyer] I love mountains. I'm in I'm in Reno now. And when I lived in Atlanta, I bought some land in the mountains in North Georgia. And now I'm over here, you know, by the Sierras and and you're in the mountains on the other side of the Poconos. [Nicole Bentler] Yeah, magical magical. Yeah, agreed. [Mary Meyer] Yeah, can be so nice. I feel like there is such a mission and I don't I almost like there should be some kind of a slogan like count chemicals, not calories. Yeah, or something like that. You know, this we're just okay with we don't or maybe we read the back of the food label, but we're looking at just the how many sugars we're looking at that kind of metrics, which isn't as important as the actual ingredient list, because not like as you're saying, not all sugars are equal. Yeah, not all carbohydrates or proteins are equal, we got to, you know, source what our body actually wants. [Nicole Bentler] Yeah, no, for sure. I think that it's I think it's amazing where we are now today. I think, you know, again, my background is health, wellness and fitness. So, you know, I think about, you know, 10-15 years ago, nobody really was reading labels and it's been pretty amazing. You know, it's been a five year journey really to get maple water to where we are today. And, you know, I think it's people are starting to ask those questions like, where's this source? Where's this coming from? What is this? If I don't understand, you know, this ingredient, I'm not going to put it in my body, you know, that used to be one of the things we used to try to tell people all the time is, you know, like reading the labels. And I do think that that's why people like everyone that is that we've been, you know, that has come on as clients with maple water and is getting it delivered to them on a monthly subscription basis. They're so excited about getting the product and just knowing where it's coming from. And then it's a clean source that like we're not adding anything to it because like even some of the coconut waters that are on the market, like they're most of them are getting, you know, done in Thailand. The coconuts are coming from Thailand. So, and they're processed in these huge facilities and then they're adding stuff to it. And it's not that healthy for you, like depending on which ones you're going with. So it's just really understanding the source and what you're buying and things like that. [Mary Meyer] It does seem like the smaller you go for a company or the farm, the more the better quality controller is. Which I think we think the opposite, like, oh, I know this brand, I trust this brand, but there's, it just seems like there's hardly a day that goes by that I don't hear something about some minutes. It's actually at a catastrophic level, in my opinion, about how bad some of this stuff is in these things that we don't realize, you know? [Nicole Bentler] Yeah, no, it is, it's wild. But I do think that there's more education coming and I think people are slowly changing. And I think, you know, hopefully over the next, you know, decade or so, they'll start getting weeded out. You know, I think people will stop buying some of this stuff. It's just, it's so hard. I think what's interesting is, you know, we talk about maple water a lot and like, you know, you don't even think about questioning like what's in my water. Like you've had it since you were a baby. Like it was out of the faucet. Like you always readily had water available. So it's like one of those things you don't even like question. So I think we're at a place now where people are starting to ask those questions. Like, and there's just, there's just so much more information out there. So I think as long as, you know, consumers continue to take that and really, you know, run with it and try to give their family fresher products and things that are local and seasonally sourced. You know, we talk about that a lot too. You know, for maple water, it's only a six week season. So we have a very limited supply. So it's first come first serve for all of our subscribers. And we'll see down the road, maybe there might be a spring water. We have a spring that's on property as well. So, but I think that, you know, seasonality is super important and knowing, you know, what's in season in the area you're in and being able to buy local and fresh is so important. [Mary Meyer] Yeah, yeah, for sure. So you've done, so your background is in nutrition and fitness and all these things how did, and you're doing some organic gardening and teaching people organic gardening too. I'm always very curious about the organic gardening and you do some organic gardening too. So I know my, like my mom did so much gardening and I tried to do gardening and it was tough with kids and I never really got started. So what do you, what are any tips and tricks for people who want to start doing some? [Nicole Bentler] So many great products on the market now. I had a friend that, you know, she lives in a high rise down in South Florida and she got like one of those garden kits and she's like doing it on her balcony and she's like getting all kinds of produce. So, you know, I think it's just one of these, like we're always so busy. We're in such a crazy culture I think here in the United States where, you know, we don't have time for this. We don't have time to cook. We don't have time like, like these meal kits that are coming to houses and I love them. I've used them too. But like cooking is one of those things you should make time for. It's about, you know, kind of enjoying the art of cooking, right? And what you're putting into your body and things like that. So I think it's the same with gardening. It's one of those things that is time consuming. You do have to make time for it and, you know, I think it's one of those things you just have to block out of time that like this is my gardening time. It's, you know, and it's not a lot, you know, we, our guys are usually there, you know, an hour in the morning and maybe a half hour in the evenings checking on things. So it's not very time consuming, you know, planting is always time consuming. But once stuff is planted, it really takes off and then you just have to tend to it. But it's not anything too crazy. But I think that if you really want to do something, you're going to do it, right? So it's just really making the time for it and making it a priority. I think if especially if you've got little ones at home and then getting to see how to grow produce. And, you know, I think our parents, you know, I grew up and we had a garden and it was more from a financial standpoint. We couldn't afford to buy produce all the time. And then, you know, having that readily available for us and for the family. So I think, you know, hopefully we'll kind of get back to that. I was actually listening to another podcast today and they were talking about, you know, we're in this consumer culture of like food should be really cheap. And yes and no, you know, we want to make it affordable. But for most of the time, like if you're looking for good quality produce that isn't sprayed with a ton of chemicals and they're not to eat shortcuts, you know, it might be a little bit more expensive. You know, we're organic and we're kosher. So we pay for those certifications. So we're not the cheapest meatball syrup for sure. But you're getting a really good quality. So I think also thinking about that, you know, but if you're not able to do that, then you can also just make it yourself and have it. And then you know what you put on your vegetables. [Mary Meyer] Right, right. And, you know, I think our, like you're talking like our parents' generation, they knew how to grow and they did that and that did save money and they needed it for that because you mentioned that. But today’s families are finding themselves in the same situation today where they're having a hard time. Making the money. But I feel like that, that sense of let's start a garden feels impossible. It feels foreign or feels like just like not the thing that you think about. [Nicole Bentler] Yeah, because you think about it, like their families had even bigger gardens. Like we had a very small garden. You know, my mom would go in there, you know, for an hour or so a night. But I'm sure, you know, her parents had, you know, a double the size of that garden and, you know, food wasn't as readily available as it is today too. So, yeah, I think it's just something we've kind of gotten away from, you know, and that was something that I didn't even think my family, like I would play in the garden, but I was never helpful. I don't think with anything, you know, whereas before, I think generations before, like that was your job. Like mom might have had to do, you know, tend to other children. You know, we also come from, you know, smaller, nuclear families. So I think, you know, the larger the family, the more responsibility you had because mom was taking care of the other kids. And you had to go out and do the garden this, that was your chore. So I think that that's probably, you know, how we got away from it. I don't know. And I think also just because food has become so cheap and readily available and you can go to the grocery store. So why would I grow it on my own when, you know, we did larger scale produce before? And it was, it was really hard. We're very fortunate that in Pennsylvania, there's a huge Amish community and Lancaster is not too far. So they have amazing produce. So it's very hard to do produce in Pennsylvania and make money and make it profitable. So we just generally do it for the farm to table dinners now and for guests that are there if something's in season, they get to take advantage of it. But that's pretty much about it. [Mary Meyer] That makes sense. That sounds so yummy. Farm to table dinners and you have to find those locally. I'm sure they're there. [Nicole Bentler] Oh, yeah, I know. There's some popping up everywhere. I see because we obviously offer it. So we see it all the time. Like there's there's definitely some in your neighborhood and it's so magical. You get to like go and sit at the at the farm and you're under the stars and it's usually like a fun networking too. You get to meet some of the neighbors and meet just different people and like getting out. And I think we're craving that as a society. So yeah, no, I think it's definitely something that's very popular depending on where you are. And it really is a magical experience. If you get a chance to, if you ever get invited or see one, go. It's the food, it's just the quality of food too. There was this really cool documentary I watched that was about farming and he started feeding the chickens red tomatoes and so much so that like the oak turned red that hit from his chickens. And it was just to kind of show people like you were eating whatever the animal's eating and how important that is. But then like also the level of the taste and the produce is just so much better because it's not something that is mass produced and it's something that has been handled with care and you can taste that. It sounds weird, but you can. [Mary Meyer] And I think your body also can feel it. So we are as a culture and I've had like people on talking about how to like being your body and feel like how is that? How is like that? Like the thought of putting food in your mouth and sensing how that makes your stomach feel and being in tune with it is actually something we have to learn, which is interesting. We're not super in touch with that. And I just say that because I just know my audience and know people and they're going to be like, well, show me proof, show me a document, show me something that says that the chemical cleaners I'm using aren't good or the lettuce on the store is not as good as the one I grow in my garden. And I would say to you or test it and test how you're feeling. I mean, how is your joint pain? How about your headaches? How about any kind of stomach issues? How's your energy? So you can test in your body like your body will tell you if you start making a journal or just feeling it, being in tune, your body will tell you a lot of these things. [Nicole Bentler] Yeah. [Mary Meyer] So that's also the case. Of course, there's research out there too. [Nicole Bentler] Yeah, no, for sure. And I think that, like you said, we've just gotten away from that. I think when you look at other cultures, like you go over to Italy and it's all about sitting and the communion and eating and just enjoying your food and really just knowing where it's coming from. And I think we just in our society here in the United States unfortunately, it's like one of those things that it's just, what can we eat? What can we do quick? And how do we move on to the next thing? [Mary Meyer] Right. Yeah. And me included, it's very tough. So you just, sometimes you just have to make the choice to have the healthy snacks around when you have to go. So you're grabbing, I tend to grab nuts and seeds or fruit, which is a little better than other things. But I think I just also, people, I know people at work say, man, you eat so healthy. Like is like, you know, and I'm like, well, my response is, I'm just trying to stay alive because, you know, when I've, you know, I have Lyme disease back in the day. And so you go through different issues with your health and you're like, you realize that I realized there, I feel it very, very much. I'm like a barometer. Like I can definitely feel when there's something that's not good in the environment going on. And I feel it very quickly in my body. [Nicole Bentler] Yeah, I know. As soon as you start to become aware of those things, you know, right? I think depending on the level of where you're at, I think, you know, I think people are definitely starting to get there and asking more questions and it's been an interesting, it's been interesting to see how awake people are becoming to things like that. But no, I think that you're 100% dead on. You know, you can tell, like if you really slow down and you listen to your senses and know, you know, is this really making me feel good? Is this not really making me feel good? Like should I be doing this? [Mary Meyer] So you've gotten some feedback from customers. So what have like, what have they said that they felt like with going back to your Maple water since we're talking about that? [Nicole Bentler] Yeah, so a lot of it's just super hydrating. You know, we actually had one client that her husband was terminally ill and she's like, he doesn't really leave his bedroom at all. She's like, I ordered your water and within days of, you know, I've been giving into him every morning. Within days, he like came out of the bedroom and came downstairs and was in the living room with us. And so it's definitely one of those things that your body can feel it as soon as you taste the Maple water. I'm so excited for you to get samples. It's too. It's wild. Like you can you can feel like how hydrating it is. So so yeah, so it just really depends. Like it's really great if you're not feeling well. I've had people say like it's great if you're hungover or not feeling great or you've got the flu. It definitely like whenever my grandparents are sick, I always like send them like a case of Maple water and you know, we all swear by it. You know, it definitely helps you hydrate quicker and your body's able to utilize it, right? It hasn't gone through this whole piping system and you know, there's it's I could take you down a rabbit hole of different fun water knowledge that I have now. But yeah, so we get that a lot. Most teenagers are not a big fan of Maple water. We've had some school groups and they're like, oh, because they're so used to like super sugary Powerade, Gatorade, that sort of thing. So that is definitely not our demographic. But generally anyone that is, you know, we do really well in the CrossFit communities and somebody that's like really caring about like the source. And you know, we have people that, you know, swear that it makes their skin look good and their hair look good. You know, we've had some bloggers that have like used it for, you know, 30 days straight and like they swear by, you know, just how that makes them feel. It's also has a ton of manganese. So it's really great for like stiff joints and knee pain. So we've had people use it after knee surgery, for recovery, you know, you can live without food. You can't live without water like we're 98% water. So it's super important what you're putting into your body. And it's one of those things we don't even think about, right? So we think about our food, but we don't necessarily think about the water source that we're putting into our body. So if you have a really good clean water source that you're putting into your body and that's like fresh, like I work remote. I come back and forth from Pennsylvania. I also live part-time in South Florida. And whenever I'm at the farm, like I can tell, like because the spring water up there is just so incredible. And like it gives me energy and I just feel so much better. Florida I like to say is like, you know, we're kind of like the very bottom of the state. So all of that fun factory and funky stuff just kind of goes onto our water system. So it's not the best quality of water, but I also really love the sunshine and the ocean. [Mary Meyer] So that's true. Sunshine and ocean is great. Yeah, I would not mind going down a rabbit hole with water. Yeah, yeah, because I really can, you know, it used to be. And this just goes into still also like there's so many people that are struggling financially, right? So if we had trees with fruit out, if people were growing a garden, if there was, you know, water, public water fountains, like there used to be with copper pipes, copper's a natural filter, and those all went away, right about the time we started getting bottled water. So if those were in place, it would be a safer world for people experiencing financial hardship, right? [Nicole Bentler] Yeah, no, totally. [Mary Meyer] Yeah, so tell me what you know, like what's your things that you look for with water and what are your concerns with any of that? [Nicole Bentler] I think so. There's been a ton of studies and you know, you can definitely look it up. But one example that I like to bring up is now this is going to sound a little nuts, but stay with me. More women are on birth control than ever before. So much so that, you know, when we go to the bathroom, there's more estrogen in our water source now than ever before. So what's happening is frogs, fish, turtles are turning from male to female because of how much estrogen is in our water source. So you think about that and then you multiply that by what antidepressants people are on. If there's, you know, people are throwing drugs down the toilet or, you know, Grandma and Poppy pass away. We don't know what to do with these pharmaceuticals. We throw them in the toilet. That's all going into our water system. So it's wild how much things are going into our water system. So definitely do your research. But that's like one of the biggest things because I used to be like, tap water is fine. Like what do you mean just drink the tap water? And now more than ever, there's like, you know, they only test for bad bacteria. They're not testing for any of these extra things like estrogen or anti blockers that are in antidepressants and things like that that you're then consuming as a bipartisan, right? So yeah, so I am not a big tap water fan anymore. I try to drink spring water only and mostly our maple water. I drink that pretty regularly. My son, I have an 18 month old. He like loves it. And it's wild because I don't know if you have children, but they're grown. [Mary Meyer] I do. [Nicole Bentler] Yeah. When they were little babies, I don't know how he knows some things, but like kind of we were talking about before. Like he can sense like if there's chicken and chicken and something, he won't eat it. Like I'm like, how does he know? Like it's like he smells or senses. I don't know. But it's the same thing with water. Like he won't drink different waters. Like, you know, we'll be out somewhere and I'll like grab a bottle of water and he'll be like, he sees the maple water and he like naturally gravitates towards it. And he's like that with like fruits and vegetables and things like that. So I think I think it's innately in us and we know we just lose those senses as we start to grow older because, you know, society or our parents are just like here have this or here have that. But I think kind of like you were saying before, if you really slow down and you're like, is this really making me feel good? I think the answers are definitely within. [Mary Meyer] Yeah, it's really interesting to me and I'll do this even because I feel like I've tried to practice this for a while, but even I'll go I'm going to put some attention on my stomach. You know, your stomach can hold so many emotions and they'll tell you how your digestion and all those organs are doing. And I don't I don't feel anything, but if I like put attention like, hey, how are you doing? It starts going, thanks for asking. Not great, you know, like it'll start telling me. No, it doesn't respond with words, obviously, but you know, yeah, no, for sure. [Nicole Bentler] Well, like you know, like you're somebody's like, actually, you shouldn't have eaten that ice cream last night. [Mary Meyer] We're actually this stress is really affecting me, you know, whatever. Yeah, there's so many things that can go on and and you can hold just negative emotion different parts of your body or toxins in different parts of your body. So you might be holding extra water because your body's trying to keep toxins away from, you know, things sometimes that will stop you from losing weight. And and that's I deal with all that stress pretty regularly. So yeah, that's that's really good, really good info on like pay attention to the water. I've also heard that, you know, like again, it used to be copper pipes, right? So then they got rid of the copper, which is a natural, it naturally does help filter and they put in plastic and then the chemicals that they bind the pipes together with can leach into the water too, you know, so that's another another thing, like right there in your home, like all these toxic chemicals they're using on the pipes to fit them together can be in your water then. So all these different sources of of trouble that we're like, we don't I don't know what's causing it. I don't know why I don't feel good. I don't know why I have. Yeah, and we do know, kind of. [Nicole Bentler] So yeah, when you start thinking about it, you're like, it's it all makes sense. And it's just we don't question it regularly. You know, like when I started reading that article, I was like, oh, wow, that actually all makes sense. And like, why isn't anyone talking about this? And the same thing with like the pipes and they took all the copper out. And now it's like the plastics and the different chemicals. Like I do think people are changing. I actually just got a water filtration put onto my home in Florida. Because all we have is tap water here. And they were like, no, we only use copper piping. And I was like, OK, great. Like I guess I was like, I'll pay extra. I'm like, I want all copper. And they're like, no, we only use copper. Like that's so good standard. So so it's very exciting to see. I think people are asking the questions and they're willing to make the sacrifices for those things. So the thing about plastic is it's so cheap. So it's like, yeah, it's cheaper, but then you're also just hurting yourself in the long run. So it's like, you know, what's the lesser of two evils? So it's it's one of those things. It's it's it's just making the decision and knowing. And if you can't do that, then just like, you know, know the source of where your water is coming from. Like now, when I go to, you know, if I'm in a gas station and I have to buy water, like I'll literally look for the most local source. So like, what is that bottled water company that's coming from that area? And pretty much everybody has like, we have one down here in Florida that has a spring that's coming from Central Florida. There's, you know, a bunch in Pennsylvania, but no matter where you go, you can usually find it. So I tried it like you were saying, like go with a smaller mom and pop brand that you know is is basically bottling it locally. [Mary Meyer] Yeah, yeah. Well, I guess I was thinking too, like the forever chemicals. Those are now in our water supply. And the thing I was going to say, I remember it. So I grew up in Iowa. And so this is part of like, you know, the glyphosate. I worked on my grandparents farm. My dad farmed it. And so all that glyphosate, the Roundup was just being sprayed. And I was not obviously directly on me, but on the ground, on the plants when I was in there working. Because back then, we still pulled weeds and picked rock and that kind of thing. Now in Iowa, there's actually, you go down the roads, there's no bugs. There's no weeds. There's nobody in the fields. And I think people need to think about that also, because what you're giving your kids to drink is any kind of corn syrup. That's what you're getting is like the Iowa farm corn syrup. It's not corn like you eat. It's not sweet corn. It's field corn. People are unaware of that too, I think. So I remember asking my dad, I'm like, why are we throwing all this corn it's not edible. And he said something like, we don't eat it. It's made for, it's so funny. He's like, it's just pencil erasers or something like, I'm like, it's just his answer didn't make any sense to me. It's not. Yeah, but like he didn't, he didn't know either, basically, he didn't know. But it's corn syrup. It's sweetener. So I don't even know how, because it's not even the least bit sweet, but it's kind of gross and inedible, but they'll give it to animals. They're putting that in all your drinks. And it is like, it kills all the bugs. And Iowa now has the highest cancer rates in the world. So you got it. So you got to think if you're, if you're near an area that does a lot of farming, all those chemicals that are going on the ground for farming also get into the water supply. Like where I'm at, there's fires, all that flame fire retardants. There's yeah, all over that's going into your water supply. [Nicole Bentler] Yeah. [Mary Meyer] So anything with a factory, that aren't, isn't supposed to be leaching chemicals. There that's going into your water supply. And then of course, you see videos of they're just, they're just dropping glyphosate on everywhere now on Tahoe. And we'll put it in the water. You'll see videos of airplanes going over water and dumping chemicals. So the last couple of years has been pretty bad in the U.S. for additional chemical in chemicals in water. So, so that to be said, more on the water, but yeah, a whole house water filtration system and some good maple water. [Nicole Bentler] Yes, no, for sure. [Mary Meyer] Something hydrating. [Nicole Bentler] Yeah. No. And I think you can go crazy. And I think you just have to start with, you know, the next best thing, right? And like choosing that because it is, it's so hard. I think, you know, there's, there's a lot of stuff that goes on and it doesn't quite make sense of why we're doing it. And it's like, you're literally poisoning the water system, which is what we need to survive. So, so yeah, so I do, I do think that, you know, we'll, we'll hopefully get away from that. And I think more and more people are becoming, thank God, you know, for the internet, even though it's, it's the lesser of the two evils of like, is it really great for us? We're not sure. But like, what's great is it, it highlights all of these things and it makes us know. you know, right now, you know, the data centers are such a hot button issue and these data centers. So, and how terrible they are for the environment. Like we have them going up in Pennsylvania and, you know, what's, what's great is I think people are really coming together and fighting and not letting them get into some communities. And I think that we have to do the same thing with, with some of these chemicals that are getting sprayed and things like that, because it's, it's things you don't even think about. But then when you say it, you're like, oh yeah, like they are spraying that all over everything. [Mary Meyer] And yeah, they're putting the fire out, but, and what, Yeah, all that, all that goes into the ground and into our water, like it doesn't stay put and it's, it's all toxic. So, yeah, well, I appreciate you going down that rabbit trail with us. Yeah, it's not the most fun topic, but I think, you know, there are, there are, there are ways to avoid it, like filters. And then when it's time to hydrate to getting a quality product and not something that has a chemical additives, natural flavors, artificial flavors, corn syrup, that's not going to be a good a hydrator for younger children. Get something that's, you know, like the maple water, but yeah. [Nicole Bentler] Yeah, go ahead. [Mary Meyer] I was going to say, just tell me more about, you know, how you guys started, like what made you go, hey, let's, let's do this. [Nicole Bentler] Oh my goodness. So it was a working maple farm prior to us buying it. So we kind of just did it and it was kind of going to be a family thing that we were all going to do together. And then I saw the water potential like right away and the history behind maple water is really cool too. You know, Native Americans, like maple water is not a new product. It's been around for hundreds of years. Native Americans used to use it before going on long journeys and as a celebratory product that they would use between seasons and it was, you know, and in other cultures, they also use sap or maple water for fasting and things like that. So it's been around forever and it's just, it's so good for you. So essentially, when we do syrup, it takes us 40 to 60 gallons of sap to make one gallon of maple syrup. So there's also just a ton of loss and also a ton of time component that goes into that. So also from a business standpoint, it makes so much more sense to do the water. But as we started kind of doing more and more of this research, like I said, I just started really questioning what is in our water source and what's this and what's that? And it was just wild, the things that we would find out. For example, we were talking about bottling and what kind of bottle we wanted to be in. And this is three, four years ago and those really sexy aluminum bottles were out and I was like, oh, those are really cool. Let's be in one of those. And my business partner, Dante, who helps run the farm as well and is one of the co-founders with Maple Water. And without him, this product wouldn't be where we are today. He was like, the aluminum, he's like, it's so bad for you. He's like, you should be drinking out of it. There's so much. He's like, I could take you down another rabbit hole. And I was like, oh, but it's so cool. Like it's, you know, it's very trendy. And I think it was Spring Valley spring water. They mostly are in glass, but they went into an aluminum can as well. And I did like a side by side comparison and it was wild to me how you could taste all the metals in the water. Like if you don't do that side by side comparison and you're just drinking it, you probably wouldn't even notice. So it's so anyways, the aluminum can then went out the window and eventually we would love to be in glass. It's just so heavy to ship and it breaks and things like that. Like we bottle all of our maple syrup and glass because we bottle it 200 degrees. So I, we always say that like glass is the best, but and maybe, you know, down the road, if we do spring water, we'll probably be in glass. But right now, we're in like a Tetra pack, which is amazing. And you know, it's the lesser of all the evils. [Mary Meyer] Yeah, that's great. It's hard, you know, the business behind a good idea is tough. I have done a lot of podcasts of just talking to entrepreneurs and people who help entrepreneurs and how you, you know, you get the product to market and then how you get it marketed and to the consumer who, you know, to find out about it and stuff and none of that's easy. [Nicole Bentler] No, and it's, it's such a long process. There's like so much that goes on behind the scenes. You know, I think a lot of people are usually like, oh wow, like you've been working on this for five years and it's like, yeah, basically like, and even when we bought the farm, you know, a little over eight years ago, we knew that we were going to venture into maple water, but it was one of those things that, you know, we kind of just had to like go with every hurdle and figure it out and try to find the answer and then, you know, finally, here we are and even when we got our first batch really back last year, it was like, you know, creating the website, creating the back end. How are we going to ship to customers? Like, what does this look like? What does that look like? It's like so many little things that go into it. It's kind of wild. [Mary Meyer] Yeah, I had my daughter asking me or talking to me about, she's from Moldova, adopted, about, you know, bringing Moldovan wine over and I'm like, that can happen. You need to like, and then I started going into probably, you know, like how does an import business work? You know, how do taxes work? How does the rent work? How does the licensure work? So there's, and you know, I think people might hear that and just kind of shut down. It's a lot, but it's just part of it, you know. [Nicole Bentler] Yeah, you just have to like tackle it. It's like taxes. You don't want to do it, but like, you just have to like, get it figured out and get it done. [Mary Meyer] Yeah, yeah. I had an online store business for a while during COVID. It was a COVID, you know, like what am I going to do? Because the other things weren't, you know, were shut down. And it's, I can't believe I did that. You know, it's like, what do I know about any of that? Absolutely nothing. Absolutely not one thing. I did not know one thing. So the information is, if you're, if you're in that position and you're like, I have a good idea, but I have no idea. Who am I to even try? And I think that's where a lot of people start. So I like to, I like to help anyone who has the inclination to do it. and which I'm one of them, is just to, you know, as many resources as possible to, you know, help bring that, bring it out so people can know this is a really good product. You just haven't heard about it yet because it's new. And it's a person like you who's just doing their best in the world to, to get a good product out to people. Yeah, I would prefer to support that over about any of the large corporations. Because I think that's just where we're at. [Nicole Bentler] Yeah, no, for sure. [Mary Meyer] Yeah, not that the large ones are all bad, but I just, you know, I just am very appreciative when people are out there making a good product and get it to the world like yourself. [Nicole Bentler] Yeah, no, it is. It's really special. I think when you can buy a local and from a small business, you know, authenticity is usually behind it is just incredible. And then you're just giving your family such a fresher product. [Mary Meyer] Yeah, yeah. And how fun to just be able to go and visit also. So for anyone who's in Pennsylvania. [Nicole Bentler] Yeah, we're only two hours from New York City and two hours north of Philadelphia. So we get a lot of people from the city. So if you're ever in the coconuts, definitely come and see us. We do tours and tastings Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. So you can come out and you can try all the different maple syrups. We make a few different maple syrups as well. We have an elderberry maple syrup. That's incredible. We have a jalapeno bourbon. That's very popular. And then we have a cinnamon vanilla that's like French toast in a bottle. And I try to convert everyone to putting it in their coffee. Like I'm like throw away like the crap creamer that you're probably putting in your coffee. That's not good for you. That's full of fillers and junk and chemicals. It's so good for you. And people are like maple syrup and coffee. And I'm like, yes, the two are like peanut butter and jelly. It's like the best combination in the world and it's so good for you. [Mary Meyer] Yeah, have you never seen Elf? I mean, come on. That's what you should do. We should just be playing the scene from Elf. Doesn't he pour that into coffee? Or like over his spaghetti. That's funny. It would be really good because I right now, I'm a coffee addict. So I have used half and half I do the organic half and half organic coffee, beans, filtered water, like there's all those steps as almost you can almost not find anywhere unless you're doing it at your own house. And then I use vanilla stevia but I question the vanilla stevia sometimes if it's the lesser of the evils, I guess, right? [Nicole Bentler] Yeah, well, we're going to send you some cinnamon vanilla maple syrup so you can try it because it's so good. [Mary Meyer] And you get some you get the sweetness and a little bit of that added sure there's minerals No, there's so many minerals and nutrients. [Nicole Bentler] No, it's maple syrup gets such a bad rap but there's a ton of immune boosting benefits in it. It's really great if you're not feeling well. It really helps your immune system. There's riboflavin in it which is really great for anti-aging. There's the manganese, there's magnesium, like there's a ton of elements because essentially if you think about it, you know, you're getting all of that from the soil. And like I said, like the maple water is one component but maple syrup is like a concentrate of the maple water. So that's why you use it in small doses essentially. But it is super incredible for you. [Mary Meyer] That's great. I keep meaning to ask you what is the difference between manganese and magnesium for people like me who don't know? [Nicole Bentler] Yeah, so magnesium is really great for like helps you hydrate. Manganese is basically really great for your joints and your like stiff muscles and things like that. So that helps with like recovering. I don't know if that, if that exactly, I would have to look that up too because I don't know the true difference but they're both different elements. [Mary Meyer] Okay, because I saw that with manganese, I don't know if I'm saying it but that's one of the minerals that is mentioned that you've mentioned a couple of times so. [Nicole Bentler] Yeah, and it's so good for you but it mostly it comes from the earth and it's really hard to find in most, unless you're eating beets or something that's coming from the soil. It's one of the things that we lack the most of and that's why people walk around with like sore backs and sore stiff knees and joints and things like that. A lot of that has to do with your hydration or like what you're eating so if you're not eating you know things that are coming from the soil you're not going to get that. [Mary Meyer] Yeah, that would probably help me right now as I'm moving. I told my son. [Nicole Bentler] I'm sure. [Mary Meyer] I told my son I'm like the way my back cracks afterwards is really interesting and he just looked at me like what does that mean? I don't know that I want to explain it. It's like every part of my back cracks after I've been carrying boxes and it's just I moved a lot. It feels like it gets a little more cracky in the wrong ways every time. So I need it. Definitely need it and kind of in closing thank you so much for your time but what else would you like to share with the audience? [Nicole Bentler] Oh my goodness. No, thank you so much for having us out. I think you know just be smart when you're sourcing your water that's like our big mission is like what's in your water and just asking yourself that question and I feel like it will lead you to really putting better quality things into your body and just knowing how it feels kind of like we talked about. I think it's just super important and I think the more you do it the better you're going to feel and the better your family is going to feel. [Mary Meyer] Yeah, for sure. And so tell us how can we order? [Nicole Bentler] So you just go on our website PoconoMapleWater.com you can subscribe it comes directly to your door or you can just order a case if there's you know if you're in the area you're more than welcome to come by the farm you get to try you get to try the maple syrup and then we're in some select retailers we're in a lot of organic markets in the New York and New Jersey and Philadelphia area like the mom and pop type places the smaller organic grocers Pilates yoga studios CrossFit studios so you can definitely grab a bottle from there but if you're not in the northeast you can have it shipped directly to your door. [Mary Meyer] Nice, I love that. Yeah, I'm so excited to get it. I better go check since I just moved in, maybe it's here and I just don't have my log in yet. [Nicole Bentler] Yeah, I hope so. I hope so. It's also possible. And then hopefully that'll help with your back. It’ll be interesting. You'll have to tell me if it makes a difference. [Mary Meyer] Yeah, with all the cracky backy from carrying all those boxes I'll tell you what. [Nicole Bentler] I know well at least you got your workout and you don't have to go to the gym. [Mary Meyer] That's right, that's right and it's really hard to get to the gym when you're moving. Yeah, there's not enough time so with all that. Yeah, well thank you again Nicole. Enjoy the rest of your day and I really appreciate your time and all the awesomeness that you're putting into the world with us. So thank you. [Nicole Bentler] Thank you so much Mary. Thanks again. Yeah, bye bye. [Mary Meyer] Nicole said she was going to send me some of this coconut maple water and she did. So I just want to say I've been using it and I have very much been enjoying it. It is how she described it's water with a energizing quality it's a little bit of sweetness but not super sweet. So it is I have a website pulled up if you're watching on YouTube - Pocono Maple Water. So she said well I'm wondering if it helps your back because I've been moving and it's mostly done. So the boxes are mostly done. I think it has had an energizing quality for sure. Also you know usually after a big push your body kind of health can collapse a little bit and I have been able to just I'm going to hold it up a little bit. I've been able to keep going and my energy has been pretty decent for considering you know how exhausting that whole process was. So I am excited to have this. Thank you Nicole for sending it to me. I've been drinking one of these every day and I think if you're one who likes to replenish using electrolytes which most of us should. Things that are on the market Gaterade will be at the back of it. It has a lot of junk in it. Pedialite which is awful because it's for kids has so much junk in it. It's not what you need. So stuff that's remineralizing from nature. Nature is going to do you better every time. It just really is. So thank you Nicole for introducing this to us and I love just promoting things that great people are putting out in the world. Just normal people like us. Not big corporations. We're finding a great solution for health and we're offering it to people and I am excited to be able to promote that. Thank you Nicole for sending this to me. Love it and I will be ordering more. Thanks for joining us. New episodes of Healthy, Happy, Wise, Wealthy with fabulous guests drop every Thursday. Also you can follow our socials at Healthy, Happy, Wise, Wealthy on Instagram, Facebook or TikTok. You can watch episodes on YouTube at the Good Pod Community and in all these places please like, follow and subscribe. See you next time.