4 Freshman Dining Hall Food Hacks

By Terry Nguyen, ‘20 

As a dorm-residing freshman, it is easy to complain about the culinary scene of the dining halls: The food is too bland, they serve the same options weekly, the cooked meat sometimes looks suspicious, they added cheese into your omelette again — you get the point — the list can go on and on.

Nevertheless, as your days at the dining halls are coming to an end, you realize that you have developed some clever food hacks over the past months dining at EVK, Parkside, or McCarthy. It is an acquired skill, and dining hall food is also an acquired taste, especially after months and months of the same salad bar with the same offered options of condiments.

You learn to look past EVK’s strange-looking edamame, and un-avocado-like “avocado” sandwich spread. The period of super salty kale and sauteed greens are also fading into the memories of first semester. As a soon-to-be sophomore, here are a few easy food hacks to make the most of your time at a dining hall before that all-you-can-eat privilege is replaced by an apartment meal plan — or, no meal plan at all.

DIY Acai Bowl (Ish)

We’re not all bougie enough for a daily acai bowl from Nektar or Popovich Hall. After all, who wants to spend over $5 on a blended bowl of fruits that is too filling to be a midday snack and too light to be a complete meal? EVK has got your back if you want to make your own acai bowl during breakfast. EVK offers daily smoothies and also a fresh selection of fruits, granola, nuts and other cereal toppings. Simply fill a bowl up with some fresh fruits, top it with granola, yogurt, and dried toppings to your heart’s content; then, pour the pre-made smoothie over your fruity mix…and there you have it! Although EVK’s smoothies are made a little slush-like and sometimes extremely watered down, it serves its purpose and this DIY acai bowl gives you a boost of energy to start your day.

Peanut Butter Banana Sandwich

You can’t go wrong with a PB & banana sandwich any time of the day. Make your own sandwich either with toast or a variety of bagel options in any of the dining halls! This one is pretty self-explanatory; just pop your toast in the toaster and hope that you get a solid tab of peanut butter (sometimes they’re melted) and a small banana. This snack is great for bringing to class, especially if you’re on a short lunch break. It can also be something you munch on if you’re full, but not full enough after a meal.

DIY Taco Salad

This one’s for the Mexican food cravers, who aren’t really down to pay $8 for a bowl of low-quality Chipotle at Verde. On Tuesdays at EVK, there are usually soft tacos, carnitas, beans, or other options of Mexican food that you can customize into a taco salad. You can get lettuce from the never-changing salad bar, add some carnitas, chicken, or beans, and top it with cheese and tomatoes. If you’re feeling gutsy, you can top it off with some of the strange guac-like sandwich spread.

DIY Milkshakes

If you’re pining for a milkshake, but Ground Zero is too far away or out of your budget this week, try filling up a glass cup with vanilla ice cream, add some (or a lot of) Oreo toppings, and fill the cup with whole milk. Although your DIY milkshake would never top any of Ground Zero’s, it’s a good, temporary substitute for those days where you need just a little stronger sugar rush. Not an oreo person? We got you covered with a coffee-like milkshake float. For the dining halls with coffee machines, partially fill up a cup with some espresso and add some vanilla ice cream to that concoction. You can also top it off with some honey or sprinkles, if you’re feeling extra fancy.

Want more from Trojans 360?

Visit Trojans 360 on Facebook & Twitter to stay up to date with more student content!

You can also Ask A Trojan an anonymous question, and we’ll try to answer it in a future post!

And don’t forget to follow us on Instagram!

Trojans 360 is USC’s official student-run blog. Content created by students, for students.