I was late for school three days in a row because I didn't have time for breakfast.
On Wednesday, my teacher looked at me with that face adults make when they are more worried than angry.
โLucy, did you eat breakfast today?
โNo, Miss. I didn't have time.
โAnd yesterday?
โNeither.
That afternoon I told my mom about the problem.
โI'm always late because I don't eat breakfast. And when I don't eat, I get dizzy in class. But in the mornings I don't have time to sit down for cereal or toast.
My mom smiled.
โWhat if instead of sitting down to eat... you took breakfast with you?
โHow?
โA smoothie. Three minutes, you take it in a cup, and you have energy until recess.
That night I couldn't sleep thinking about my perfect smoothie.
Thursday morning I did my first experiment. I took out the blender. I put in a banana and milk. I tasted it. It tasted like... banana milk. Normal. I added a spoonful of cocoa. Better! But something was missing.
I saw the jar of oats in the pantry. I added two spoonfuls. I blended. I tasted.
And there it was.
It tasted like a chocolate milkshake, but creamy and actually filling. I poured it into a travel mug and took it to school.
That day I arrived ON TIME. And in math class at 11, when I usually felt hungry, I was perfectly focused.
Over the next few weeks, the smoothie became my ritual. Three exact minutes every morning.
One Monday, my best friend Claudia arrived exhausted.
โI haven't slept at all studying. I'm starving.
I told her about my smoothie. She laughed. "A smoothie is going to change my life? Come on."
โI dare you to try it for a week. If it doesn't work, I'll buy you croissants for a whole month.
A week later she sent me a message: "I need the EXACT recipe. This is magic."
Word started to spread. First Claudia. Then Pablo. Then half the class. Everyone wanted Lucy's Revolutionary Smoothie.
Some added strawberries. Others peanut butter. Everyone adapted it, but the base was always the same: banana, milk, cocoa, oats.