This week's newsletter is packed with exciting questions, healthy recipes, inspiring athletes, local events you won't want to miss, and a must-read blog post! Enjoy reading this weeks newsletter!

Which of these is a lesser-known St. Patrick's Day tradition that is popular among children?

A) Crafting "pot of gold" rainbow cups filled with chocolate coins

B) Running a race in honor of St. Patrick's journey across Ireland

C) Creating green slime to celebrate the "luck of the Irish"

D) Building a St. Patrick’s Day float for a family parade

High-Protein Cottage Cheese Pancakes

Ingredients

• 2 cups rolled oats

• 5 large eggs

• 2 cups 2% cottage cheese

• 2 ripe bananas, cut into pieces

• 6 tbsp peanut butter powder

• 2 tbsp maple syrup

• 4 tsp baking powder

• 1 tbsp ground cinnamon

• 1 tbsp vanilla extract

• ½ cup semisweet chocolate chips

• 2 tbsp unsalted butter

Instructions

1. Grind the oats in the blender, making sure to stop and mix the oats occasionally to get even blending, until it turns into a mostly fine powder.

2. Add the eggs, cottage cheese, bananas, peanut butter powder, maple syrup, baking powder, cinnamon, and vanilla in this order. Puree in the blender, stopping and stirring if needed, this should take 30 seconds.

3. Put the batter into a bowl and stir in the chocolate chips. Melt around a tablespoon of butter in a large skillet. Ladle about a ¼ a cup mounds of batter into the skillet spacing them out evenly. Use the back of a spoon to spread the batter out. Cook until golden brown about 3-4 minutes then flip and do the same thing on the other side. Enjoy!

Click HERE to go to the recipe!

This week, our soccer coach at The University of Illinois Marin, is in the spotlight! Check out his bio below and book your next lesson by going to our website!

Introducing, Marin McAndrew!

“I am from Champagin, Illinois. I swam for the Champaign County YMCA HEAT. I was on the YMCA national team for 3 years. I am currently a sophomore in kinesiology at the University of Illinois.”

Book Your Lesson With Marin Now!

Beach Blanket Bingo

Jump into spring break with bingo at the library! Bring a beach blanket or towel to the library and enjoy a fun time of playing bingo. This program will take place on March 20 from 10:00-11:30 am at the Mahomet Public Library and is for kids in Kindergarten-Fifth grade. No registration is required.

Click HERE to learn more! 

Ecology Spring Break Camp

Explore the wonders of nature at the Ecology Spring Break Camp. Campers will create inventions, learn more about biomimicry, and build creations based on the engineering of nature and animals. Each day will have new fun adventures that include games, crafts, visits from critters, and the a trip to the Museum of Science and Industry. The event will be at Lovelace Park (Gross Point Rd & Thayer St, Evanston, IL 60201) from March 24-28 from 9-4 pm. This event is for kids 5-11 years old and they will provide an afternoon snack, but campers should bring a nut-free lunch. The camp costs $365 for residents and $475 for nonresidents. To register call 847-448-8256.

Click HERE to learn more!

St. Patrick’s Day is right around the corner and while this holiday is fun and has a lot of green associated with it, it is not always easy to find activities that are both kid friendly and fun. In today’s blog post we will be looking at 3 fun activities you can do with your kids to celebrate the holiday. These activities are both fun and use supplies that you already have at home. So try these 3 activities that are perfect for the occasion: making a Leprechaun trap, green slime, and Lucky Charm Rice Krispie Treats.

Click HERE to read more!

Based originally in Champaign, Illinois and quickly expanding across the rest of the Midwest, we at Top Tier make it our goal to connect you and your kids to high quality and successful college athletes across every playing field. We are currently offering lessons for several different sports from an array of elite college athletes. As college sports are expanding and becoming more popular throughout the country, we want to guarantee our customers can benefit from this great opportunity to receive quality training with flexible times. Check out our website to learn more.

The correct answer is A! (source: ChatGPT)