Mike: Hello everybody. This is Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, here with Mary Waldner, the founder of Mary's Gone Crackers. This is a fantastic brand of healthful crackers. They have no hydrogenated oils whatsoever, no trans fats, and they're crackers I've been eating for well over a year now. Thank you for sharing some time with us.
Mary Waldner: Oh, you're welcome. Nice to be here.
Mike: Now, how did you come up with these crackers in the first place?
Waldner: I was looking for a product that I could eat when I went to parties and restaurants because I'm a celiac, so I can't eat anything with gluten. And a lot of the products out there -- that was 11 years ago -- had chemicals or refined products -- ingredients that I didn't want to eat. So I had the idea for this, and it turned into a cracker. I wasn't sure what it was going to be, but I really liked them so I just started making them and taking little bags of them with me everywhere I went, and that's how it got started.
Mike: Word got around and...
Waldner: Well, everyone started eating them and wanting more so I started making them more and more and more. I got a new oven so I could make enough for all my friends, and I got tired of making crackers, so I said to my husband, "I think we need to manufacture these so I can get out of the kitchen." And we started two years ago.
Mike: Wow. And now you're already in national distribution.
Waldner: That's right. Yes.
Mike: You're in health food stores everywhere, right?
Waldner: Everywhere. Right.
Mike: The box is easy to identify. Look for this box in health food stores. And the name -- you can't forget that.
Waldner: Right. My friends came up with this name. I've been a psychologist for the last 26 years. I actually just closed my practice last October, and my friends decided that my name should be on the product somehow. We were just kind of joking back and forth and one of them said, "Yeah, it should be like 'Mary's cracking up' or something." And then my other friend said, "Yeah, 'Mary's gone crackers,'" and it was like (gasp). That was the moment that the name was born.
Mike: Wonderful.
Waldner: Yes.
Mike: It's very viral, too. People remember the name.
Waldner: Yes, that's right. People laugh all the time, which is good.
Mike: What originally attracted me to this product is the fact that it's made with both brown rice and quinoa. These are two very healthful, very special ingredients, and you don't find them in a lot of crackers. How did you have the nutritional wisdom to know that those ingredients should be in your crackers?
Waldner: Well, I've been kind of a health nut my whole life. Not knowing what my health problems were based on, I learned a lot about nutrition, and I knew whole grains were good. I knew quinoa was particularly good because it's high in protein and fiber. It's hard, especially if you're eating a vegetarian diet -- which I'm not, but a lot of people do -- to get the balance of protein. So I liked that. I liked how it tasted. So that was the basis.
Mike: What if people can't find it locally? How can they order it online?
Waldner: They can go to MarysGoneCrackers.com and order it online or call our office, and we'll ship them out.
Mike: Wonderful. Thank you for sharing your story with us today.
Waldner: Thank you. Nice to meet you.
About the author: Mike Adams is a natural health author and award-winning journalist with a strong interest in personal health, the environment and the power of nature to help us all heal He has authored more than 1,800 articles and dozens of reports, guides and interviews on natural health topics, reaching millions of readers with information that is saving lives and improving personal health around the world. Adams is a trusted, independent journalist who receives no money or promotional fees whatsoever to write about other companies' products. In 2010, Adams launched NaturalNews.TV, a natural health video site featuring videos on holistic health and green living. He also founded an environmentally-friendly online retailer called BetterLifeGoods.com that uses retail profits to help support consumer advocacy programs. He's also the founder of a well known HTML email software company whose 'Email Marketing Director' software currently runs the NaturalNews subscription database. Adams also serves as the executive director of the Consumer Wellness Center, a non-profit consumer protection group, and enjoys outdoor activities, nature photography, Pilates and martial arts training. He's also author of numerous health books published by Truth Publishing and is the creator of several consumer-oriented grassroots campaigns, including the Spam. Don't Buy It! campaign, and the free downloadable Honest Food Guide. He also created the free reference sites HerbReference.com and HealingFoodReference.com. Adams believes in free speech, free access to nutritional supplements and the ending of corporate control over medicines, genes and seeds. Known by his callsign, the 'Health Ranger,' Adams posts his missions statements, health statistics and health photos at www.HealthRanger.org
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Monday, July 17, 2006
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