Whether you have 24 meals swipes per week, 14, 10, or are just going to Epi every day until your Flex Dollars run out, we all end up at Leo’s from time to time. Frequenters may complain the meals are repetitive, but that doesn’t mean you should waste your swipes to spend additional money eating out—you just need to get creative. Leo’s does have a lot to offer, you just need to add a personal touch to make meals uniquely your own. Here are some tips on how to get the most out of your meal plan.
For Leo’s Chefs:
– Brunch Panini: This one is only possible during weekend brunch, since you need the breakfast options as well as the salad bar. Start by going to the sandwich bar and get a large tortilla. Fill the middle of the tortilla with scrambled eggs, and then grab some veggies like onions, mushrooms, tomatoes, and spinach from the salad bar. For cheese, I recommend cheddar or pepper jack. Fold up all your ingredients in a burrito-like formation, and then put it all in the Panini press. The result is a flattened egg sandwich that’s absolutely delicious!
– Buffalo ranch chicken salad: This one is made for Chicken Finger Thursday. Get a bowl of lettuce from the salad bar, add celery, tomatoes, carrots, and onions, and top it off with some chicken fingers. Then take another small bowl and fill it up half with ranch dressing and half with hot sauce. This creates the buffalo sauce that you’ll pour on your salad. Or, put all the ingredients in a tortilla and make a buffalo ranch chicken wrap!
– Homemade chicken parm: Start off by grabbing some grilled chicken from the grill. Then go into the pasta line, but ask for a bowl of only tomato sauce. Pour the sauce on the chicken, add some cheese from the sandwich or salad bar, and heat up if necessary.
– Veggie burger Panini: Grab a veggie burger on a bun (or chicken, if you prefer), and in the middle of the sandwich add some pepper jack cheese, barbecue sauce, onions, lettuce. Put the top bun back on, stick it all in the Panini press, and you’ve got yourself a unique sandwich.
– Taco salad: This favorite involves all the ingredients of the taco—minus the shell. Get in line at the burrito station and ask for all your taco favorites in a burrito bowl (cheese, guac, sour cream, onions, olives, meat—whatever your heart desires). Then add lettuce and whatever extra veggies you want from the salad bar, and mix it all up in a regular bowl.
Leo’s Sous Chef:
– Mini pizza: Get either a bagel or English muffin, and pour on tomato sauce (again, wait in the pasta line and ask for a bowl of sauce only). Then top it off with your cheese of choice from the salad or sandwich bar, and put it in the toaster.
– Nachos: Take advantage of the tortilla chips offered right by the burrito bar. Put them on a plate, layer them with your cheese of choice, and stick it all in the microwave.
– Sweet-banana waffles: Start off by making a waffle in the waffle-maker. Spread on some peanut butter from the sandwich bar and drizzle some honey on top. Then, slice up a banana to top it off!
– Spice up your salad: One of my favorite things to do is to add specials from the vegetarian/vegan bar on top of my usual Leo’s salad. Grab some roasted vegetables, brown rice, quinoa, or roasted tofu to give your salad some pizzazz.
– Peanut butter froyo parfait: Start off with a bowl of vanilla froyo and add a scoop or two of peanut butter and mix it up. Add some granola from the cereal section, and add your choice of fruit on top (sliced bananas or apples are always good).
Easy as Pie
– Coffee frappe: Make Leo’s coffee delicious. Get a cup and fill it up 2/3 with vanilla froyo, and then top the rest off with some coffee. Whip it up with a spoon, and you’ve got a sweet coffee frappe.
– Ice cream sandwich: Leo’s cookies, hard-serve ice cream—you do the math. I like to go for the classic chocolate chip cookie and vanilla ice cream. You can even add some additional chocolate chips to the side of the sandwich from the toppings bar.
– Root beer float: Vanilla froyo or ice cream, root beer, stir. Enjoy.
– Cereal on top of froyo: This is one of the few instances I think froyo tastes better when it’s slightly melted. My favorite cereal toppings are normally the crispier ones—Rice Krispies, granola, or Krave.
– Deluxe hot chocolate: Go to the coffee section and take advantage of the hot chocolate/cappuccino machine. Grab a cup of hot chocolate, add a splash of milk from the cereal section, and add some marshmallows from the ice cream toppings bar (maybe even some fudge sauce if you’ve got a big sweet tooth).
– Not-your-average waffle: Take your favorite extras from the ice cream toppings bar (I recommend sprinkles or maybe even marshmallows) and add them to waffle batter.
– Chili and rice: The vegetarian/vegan section normally offers some form of rice. Take a bowl of it and top it off with some chili!