Alt Wire is a morning digest of links and information collected and explained by a different guest blogger every weekday. Today’s guest is Andrew Lam ofNew America Media, (check back tomorrow for media activist Joshua Breitbart ):
The new economy may be forcing Americans towards a new diet–or at least a cheaper way to eat. Spam and mac & cheese are selling swiftly, but if you know where to look, there is plenty of advice on how to survive on a shrinking budget and still enjoy balanced and nutritious meals.
Six Dollars a Day: John Handley is a young father searching for work while spending less than 6 dollars a day to survive in San Francisco. He writes about the experience at Youth outlook, a literary journal of youth life in the Bay Area.
Six Dollars and Fifty Cents a Day: Meanwhile, Andrea Nguyen, author of Into the Vietnamese Kitchen: Treasured Foodways, Modern Flavors has a piece over at Viet World Kitchen called How Would You Eat for $6.50 a Day? “The stock market may be bearish on mortgage-backed securities, but I’m bullish on home cooking,” Nguyen writes. “A good home cooked meal is always a safe bet, in good and bad times.”
The Korean Taco: In Los Angeles, the Korean taco is the rage. It’s a combination of spicy bites of pork, chicken, or tofu and kimchi wrapped in soft taco shell and spiced with sesame chili salsa–all for $2 dollars a pop.
Frugality is Healthy: Last but not least check out The Cultural Defense: Frugality is Healthy and Wise, a piece I did that makes me very hungry for home cooking.
BIO: Andrew Lam is an editor at New America Media and the author of Perfume Dreams: Reflections on the Vietnamese Diaspora.
Previous Alt Wire Guests: Jessica Valenti,Jessica Hoffmann,Noah Scalin,Rinku Sen,Paddy Johnson,Melissa Mcewan,Fatemeh Fakhraie,Joe Biel,Anne Elizabeth Moore
