“What we ingest creates who we are,” said Maureen Sheahen, creator of Mo Green Juice and mother of junior Kevin Sheahen.  MGJ (Mo Green Juice) is an all-natural cold-pressed juice that comes in 15 different flavors.

It all started around the Sheahen’s kitchen table. Sheahen looked around at her family and wanted to make sure they were healthy. Not just physically, but mentally. When she noticed her loved ones feeling sick or their behavior being abnormal, she wondered what she could do to make them feel better. The search for something that would help them is what inspired her to begin experimenting, right in her own kitchen.

“I like to play with food. I dreamed it up, threw some veggies together with some fruit… there you have it,” Sheahen said.

She worked to find combinations of fruits and vegetables that “worked well together,” in order to create a juice that would be healthy for her family and enjoyable to drink.

“I tested it out on everyone I could get to try it. Besides my family, farmer’s markets were the best, people are great,” Sheahen said.

Not all feedback was positive. This constructive criticism helped the process of taking MGJ from an idea into a business. Sheahen got people to try her juice, word then spread, and before she knew it she was bottling her own recipe for her friends and clients. It dawned on her that she could now help people outside her family.

“It just grew out of people talking about it. I was asked to do the Ramsey Farmer’s Market and it took off from there. I realized that I could reach a larger group of people by getting MGJ out there,” Sheahen said.

The green juice is sold all the way from Kilroy’s to Georgetown University Medical Center. Locally, MGJ can be purchased at Rock Kitchen, Ridgewood Coffee and Ridgewood Train Station.

“We not only make our juices, but make juices for other companies. We can make or configure a client’s product specific to their needs… Companies pay for the use of our recipe,” Sheahen said.

The recipe of MGJ remains a mystery, known only to Maureen Sheahen.

“The companies do not know how much of each ingredient [is used], only what the ingredients are,” said Mrs. Sheahen.

Each 12 ounce bottle of MGJ contains nutrients equivalent to that of five salads. The spinach flavor juice, for example, contains romaine lettuce, kale, spinach, cucumber, celery, parsley, red and green bell pepper, lemon, apple and ginger. Even now, Mrs. Sheahen continues to make revisions on her juice, in hopes of growing her company and improving the lives of more people.

Kevin Sheahen has watched his mom build her company from the ground up. After helping his mom with deliveries when he was off from school and assisting her with tastings at local farmers markets, Kevin has learned a lot from her not only about being a businessperson, but also about working towards his goals.

“It taught me to be patient and persistent. Nothing is built in one day,” Kevin said.

Business aspect aside, Mrs. Sheahen prioritizes helping people with her healthy juices.

“She always tells me that she would be fine with the company not succeeding. Naturally, of course, she always tries to make the company better,” Kevin said.

Not only does she hope for her business to grow, but more importantly, she finds sharing her own “healthy mindset” with others extremely rewarding.

“I call it God food. Not politically correct, but that’s what I believe,” Sheahen said.