By: Ellice Ellis ‘20

When the long-awaited USC Village opened, nothing excited me more than the new Trader Joes. The organic grocery chain is known for their relatively cheap prices, great frozen food selection, and friendly staff. In addition to this, Trader Joe’s is a vegan’s paradise. There are a lot of products on the shelves of TJ’s that are essential to a great vegan meal. As a TJ’s fanatic and a vegan, I’ve come here to share my top 5 products from the store that will rock your little vegan belly.

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.