Let's get into it:

Who: Jill Larsen, CEO and Co-founder of Magic Mix
Where: Magic Mix, 102 Fulton St, New York, NY 10038

(Jill Larsen, Founder and CEO of Magic Mix at Magic Mix Tribeca)

How did you know you wanted to work in food? Why did you start Magic Mix (the brand and the store)? 

I actually had no idea I would ever be working in food, but looking back my mom would make fresh carrot, ginger juice and add a drop of olive oil to it saying that your body absorbs the nutrients better with a little bit of oil and I was fascinated back then. It wasn’t until I realized I had to look at food for healing that I started taking note of how much food was influencing not just our bodies and skin but also our mood. After being diagnosed with a skin pigmentation disorder known as Melasma, a hormone imbalance shown as dark patches on your face. I frantically went to see every doctor. Not only was my physical appearance bothering me but I was also feeling sluggish, fatigued and depressed. Western doctors wanted to prescribe me bleaching crèmes to put on my face – hold on let that sink in – yeah bleaching crème with the side effect of never being able to go out in the sun again. I tried acupuncture, laser surgery nothing helped until I started looking at healing from the inside out. I read up on juicing and found that a juice cleanse would be one of the fastest ways for your body to replenish all those yummy micronutrients while also staying away from all the bad stuff. After a three week juice cleanse, not only did my skin slowly start to clear up but I had more energy than I had ever had, the whites of my eyes were bright, and it was like the fog had lifted. That was my AHA moment. I wanted everyone to feel this magical! I knew it was hard even for myself to buy organic produce, clean it, juice it to then have one glass of juice and then clean the machine and start the whole thing all over again…why not create a magical space for myself and the world to grab organic, plant based foods, juices and snacks without the hassle. Welcome to Magic Mix.                                                       

What appealed to you about BUBBLE?

I love that we share the same mission of clean foods using only ingredients that are whole and that we can pronounce AND that we want to make it easier for people to make healthier choices. A lot of companies can write healthy on the label but still be full of bad ingredients which is where Bubble comes in and takes the guess work out of it.

Where do you draw inspiration for your recipes?

All over, in the beginning I recreated a lot of the foods I was missing, hence breads (our Indian Summer Bread) and bacon (Coco-nutty Bacon) lol. Now I love getting inspired when I travel with my husband. We were recently in Thailand so a new soba noodle salad will be on the menu soon with stir fry veggies and a sesame oil, almond butter, ginger dressing (YUMMM) which is amazing cold or hot.

Who would be on your dream dinner party guest list? 

Uhh this question is so fun!! David ‘Avocado’ Wolfe because he knows how to grow and harvest all the raw plants and has a world of knowledge in the raw space. Oprah because super soul everything! Danielle LaPorte, my spirit guru that makes you realize your core desired feelings are much more important and life altering than physical attainment. Kim Kardashian West because she just went plant based and wants to build a farm on her property and that’s pretty sick #goals. Jamie Oliver, because his show Food Revolution inspired me to help kids have better food choices. Danny Meyer for getting insight into to how to run and keep multiple restaurants successful in NYC and beyond. I could go on forever! 

 Where do you see the future of food / health and wellness heading towards?

Hopefully back to nature. We have to make it super simple. Eat plants, be good to the earth. It’s all a circle of life. Put your bare feet on green grass, swim in the ocean. All of those things bring true joy, especially when surrounded by beautiful humans (and animals) and all contribute to our health and well being. We all can play an active part in preserving mother nature and part of that lies in what we eat along with also making ourselves feel good. 

Contributor: Jill Larsen, CEO and Co-founder of Magic Mix