Inspiration Abounds at Ellii

Where do you go for dinner inspiration when your refrigerator is half empty and the thought of cereal for yet another meal makes you feel slightly nauseous? Last night, I turned to this week’s That’s News to Me lesson and it did not disappoint!

At the beginning of each week, members of Ellii’s Publishing team scour Reuters’s portal for timely, relevant articles that will appeal to students and teachers alike. (We license content from Reuters to bring authentic materials and graded readings to classrooms around the world.) Often a “newsy” story takes precedence, but if we don’t feel there is an “event” that we should cover, we turn to articles that deal with a wide range of topics including business and economics, politics, the environment, education and technology, health, family and society, and sports and entertainment.

Yesterday, we looked at a few possible articles, but when Felicia found one about “misfit” food, we knew our search was over. Tara mentioned that she loved “buying those mushrooms that are ready to use tonight at half the price,” and I was reminded of the juicy pears that, while brown in spots, made for a scrumptious addition to our Sunday brunch over the weekend. Plus, we knew that Steve, our illustrator, would do a bang-up job with the lesson image. And did he ever! Have you ever seen a cuter carrot?

As I was editing the Advanced version of Convincing Consumers to Choose “Misfit” Food, I decided that I could personally do more to help reduce food waste than buying a few overripe pears. Despite being a Gen Xer—the demographic, according to the article, who is the least enthusiastic about buying “ugly” produce, upcycled products, or food that is nearing its best-before date—I downloaded an app that the author mentioned, Too Good To Go.

Too Good To Go sells “surprise” bags of surplus food at a fraction of the retail cost. Yesterday, a local Afghan restaurant, The Mantu, was offering these bags for $9.99 each. My husband and I are not the best meal planners and had nothing prepared for dinner, so I reserved a bag for us. When I picked the bag up from the restaurant, I was surprised by how heavy it was. By the time I was halfway home, my mouth was watering from the aroma of the food.

When we opened the bag, we discovered generous portions of spiced rice, chicken, and dumplings. We ate our fill and resolved to make “surprise” bags part of our weekly routine. 

I hope that you make our That's News to Me section a part of your weekly classsroom routine. You never know what awaits!