Just Like Moe's

This restaurant chain breaks meals down to basics

I hadn’t been to Moe’s before, but we visited one recently, and it took only a few minutes to figure out the brilliance of their system.

First, pick your wrap, burrito, or taco.

Then add your protein source: They offer beans or tofu. (They offer meat, too, but who cares?)

Then add more fillings; this is where the magic happens.

Finally, choose a sauce.

Put it all together and you have a full meal. How brilliant and how easy. No more wracking your brain.

Just through you list of options, which I will conveniently provide right here.

Add more of your own options too.

Print up a chart and put it on your fridge, if you want.

This kind of meal makes planning easy.

Naturally my own version will be better than Moe’s, because even they feel the need to their tofu and wraps and sauces in oil. I won’t use any, so I win.

Ready? Set. Moe!

Step One: The Outer Layer

• Dave’s Killer Bread slices

• Dave’s Killer Bread roll

• Ezekiel Bread

• Ezekiel English muffin,

• Ezekial wrap

• Whole grain burrito wrap

• Corn tortillas

• No wrap at all. (this is an excellent option too. Use a bowl and carry on.)

The key to choosing your bread or wrap is in its ingredients. You want whole grain, no oil, and egg & milk free. Add any breads or wraps you have found that fit the bill.

Step Two: The Additional Grains

I never thought of adding rice to my burrito until I went to Moe’s. I always stuck to veggies, but adding brown rice really makes for a more filling meal, and the satisfaction lasts longer. or this layer, you can use any of the following.

• Brown rice

• Brown basmati rice

• Brown texmati rice

• Black forbidden rice

• Carolina gold rice

• Black sticky rice

• Quinoa

If you chose the “No wrap at all” option in Step One, you could bake a potato to use as your base. Or not, either way. (4 minutes in the microwave. Poke holes with a fork first.)

Step Three: Add a Protein Source

• Marinated roasted tofu bites

• Black beans

• Pinto beans

• Red lentils

• Brown lentils

• Cannellinni beans

• Kidney beans

• Garbanzo Beans rolled in garlic powder and baked

• Seitan

Remember too that quinoa (listed with rice in step two, is also an excellent source of protein.

Step Four: The Other Fillings

Oh, so many to choose from!

• Cooked mix of mushrooms, peppers, onions and garlic

• Raw peppers

• Raw onions

• Raw mushrooms

• Minced garlic

• Steamed spinach

• Steamed Swiss chard

• Raw chopped greens: lettuces, spinach, kale, arugula, other greens

• Olives

• Pickles

• Diced tomatoes

• raw cucumbers

• Soy protein crumbles (for a crunchy topping)

• Hot peppers

• Roasted red peppers

As many other veggies as you can think of!

The toppings

I’m quite partial to Newman’s Own salsa brands. They’re clean. I love the mango and the pineapple, but they also have traditional flavors with varying levels of heat.

Other toppings can be anything you can imagine.

Salsa, regular

Salsa, sweet (mango, pineapple)

Barbecue sauce

Cashew cream

Hot sauce

Walnut sauce

Peanut sauce

Aged balsamic vinegar*

*Aged balsamic is thick and sweet, similar to a balsamic glaze, though not quite. It’s wonderful.

Wrap it up!

Line the ingredients in rows, like you see in the photo. and then roll in line with the lengthwise rows. This will put the ingredients into layers in the wrap. Wait, I’ll do another.

• Tuck in both sides before making the first roll.

• Then roll once, and tuck in the sides again.

• Then tuck, then roll.

• It’s okay if some of the filling squishes out the far end.

And there you go.

Whenever I cut up peppers, onions, and mushrooms for one recipe, I cut up enough for at least two more, and stash them in the fridge.

Whenever I make rice, or pasta, or potatoes, or sweet potatoes, I make more than I need, then store it in the fridge. This is a huge time-saver.

Most of the time, I can open my fridge, and find plenty of already-prepared ingredients to create a quick meal for myself. This is a good state of affairs to maintain!

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“Maggie Shayne writes romantic suspense with page-turning thrills. She has a permanent spot on my keeper shelf.”

–Number 1 New York Times bestselling author KAREN ROBARDS

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