To celebrate National Nutrition Month in March, we held a contest asking people to take a picture of what's on their plate. We receieved tons of great photos, full of colorful, healthy, and delicious food! We then opened voting to the public, and three winners were chosen based on their photos. Below are the photos, and the recipes, that had our Facebook fans hungry for some healthy, well-balanced meals! Thank you to everyone who participated in the What's On Your Plate? Photo Contest!

1st Place: Grilled Tofu with Steamed Vegetables, Barley and Sweet Corn
By Vanesa Dejanovic

Steamed Vegetables With Spices

Ingredients:

• 1 cup broccoli florets
• 1 cup cauliflower florets
• 1 cup carrots chopped
• 1/2 tsp mustard seeds
• 1/2 tsp cumin seeds
• 1/4 tsp hing (asafoetida): a spice similar to garlic (garlic can be used as an alternative in this recipe)
• 1/4 turmeric
• 2 tsp extra virgin olive oil
• Salt to taste (best if used Himalayan or Celtic see salt)

Directions:

1. Heat up oil in cooking pan on medium high heat
2. Add mustard seeds and cumin seeds. Fry it for about 30 seconds and add hing (or garlic) and turmeric, and fry for another 5 seconds. Be very careful that spices don’t burn
3. Add carrots and mix well, lower the heat and cover
4. After 4 minutes add cauliflower and broccoli, cover and steam for another 3 minutes. Vegetables shouldn’t be overcooked
5. After it’s done add salt and sprinkle with dry parsley, dill weed or cilantro

Barley and Sweet Corn With Coconut Oil

Ingredients:

• 1 cup quick cooking Barley
• 1 cup sweet corn (frozen or fresh)
• 2 cups boiling water
• 2 tsp extra virgin coconut oil
• Salt to taste (Himalayan or Celtic sea salt are best)

Directions:

1. In one pan, bring 2 cups of water to boil
2. In another deep pan heat up coconut oil, add corn and sauté for 1 minute
3. Then add barley, the 2 cups of boiling water and salt
4. Cover and cook for 10-12 minutes or until tender
5. Remove from stove and leave it covered for 5 minutes

Grilled Tofu and Marinade

Ingredients:

• 1 package extra firm tofu
• 1/2 cup Braggs liquid aminos (or tamari sauce)
• 2 tbsp maple syrup
• 1 tbsp liquid smoke
• 1 tbsp hot sauce
• 1/4 tsp hing (or garlic)
• 1/4 tsp black pepper

Directions:

1. Mix all ingredients for marinade and set aside
2. Take tofu out of package and try to squeeze as much water as you can but be careful not to break it
3. After you squeeze water, cut tofu in about 1/2 inch thick pieces, place it in a large bowl and add marinade mixture
4. Cover the bowl and let it stand for at least 1 hour
5. Heat up non-stick pan, add just a little oil and add marinated tofu
6. Grill it for about 2 minutes on each side

Almond Dressing

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup almonds
• 1/4 cup nutritional yeast
• 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil (or expeller pressed sunflower or canola oil)
• 1/2 cup + 2 tbsp water
• 1 1/2 tbsp Braggs liquid aminos
• 1/8 tsp hing (or garlic)

Directions:

Put all ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth.

For more recipes and photos from Vanesa visit her Facebook page, Sattva – Attaining the Perfect Balance!

2nd Place: Raw Vegan Sushi with dipping sauce
By Emily Chan-Norris

Ingredients:

1 Package Nori: You’ll need at least 4 pieces of nori to accommodate the amount of “rice” this yields. Feel free to use fewer ingredients for the “rice” mixture. The amount is up to you, as long as you use a 1:1 ratio of cauliflower and parsnip.

“Rice” Mixture Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups cauliflower
• 1 1/2 cups parsnip
• Salt, to taste
• 2 heaping Tbsp of nut or seed butter (almond butter, tahini, sunflower seed butter or a combination)
• 1 Tbsp grated fresh ginger
• A little lemon juice

“Rice” Mixture Directions:

1. Put cauliflower and parsnip in food processor and blend until they’re the size of rice
2. Mix the other ingredients by hand.

Filling Ingredients:

• Carrot
• Red and/or yellow bell pepper
• Cucumber
• Avocado
• Sprouts (any kind you want, I typically use alfalfa or broccoli sprouts)

Put it all together:

1. Put the sprouts on the nori sheet first, covering ¼-1/2 of the sheet
2. Put 4-5 Tbsp. of the “rice” on top of the sprouts.
3. Place the rest of the veggies on top of the “rice,” with the avocado on the very top
4. Roll it up as tightly as possible.
5. Wet the top part of the nori to seal the roll
6. Wait at least 5 minutes before cutting to ensure that it doesn’t fall apart!
7. Cut the nori roll into 6 equal parts.
8. Sprinkle with sesame seeds or Gomasio for added flavor

Garlic Lovers “Get Your Sweat On” Spicy Dipping Sauce

Ingredients:

• 1 1/4 tbsp Tamari
• 1 1/2 tsp Apple Cider Vinegar
• 1/2 tsp Dijon Mustard
• 1/4 tsp Ginger Powder (if you have fresh ginger on hand, use that instead but start with less than 1/4 tsp and work your way up)
• 1 clove Garlic (minced)

Directions:

1. Combine tamari, apple cider vinegar and Dijon in a small bowl and mix with a small whisk or spoon
2. Add ginger and minced garlic, mix well
3. Serve immediately

For more recipes and healthy tips from Emily (an IIN grad!), visit her blog, Embrace True Health!

3rd Place: Garlic & Rosemary Roasted Warm Root Vegetable Salad di Mare
By Cathi Iannone

Ingredients for Root Vegetables Roast:

• 4 cups of fingerling, or red bliss potatoes (halved)
• 4 small beets (peeled and halved)
• 3 medium orange carrots (chopped into 1 inch chunks)
• 3 medium yellow carrots  (chopped into 1 inch chunks)
• 2 cup of sweet potatoes  (chopped into 2 inch chunks)
• 1 cup of cippolini (miniature onions, halved)
• 3 cups of micro greens (may use arugula, or micro blend)
• 4 garlic cloves (2 minced finely, 2 with skins on)
• 3 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
• 1 teaspoon of rosemary (minced finely)
• 1 cup of crumbled gorgonzola cheese
• ¼ cup of pine nuts
• Sea salt and cracked pepper

Ingredients for Steaming Prawns:

• 1 pound of jumbo prawns (peeled and cleaned)
• ½ cup of apple cider vinegar
• ½ cup of water
• 2 garlic cloves (smashed)

Ingredients for Vinaigrette:

• 1/3 cup of extra virgin olive oil
• Juice of one lemon
• 2 cloves of roasted garlic (from root vegetable roast)
• 1 teaspoon of rosemary (minced finely)
• Sea salt

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees
2. Grease an 11 by 17-inch baking sheet pan with extra virgin olive oil
3. Place vegetables and garlic cloves (with skins on) in baking sheet and toss with minced garlic, rosemary, and salt & pepper until evenly coated. Add a little more olive oil if they seem too dry
4. Place on the middle rack and bake 45 minutes
5. Ten minutes before the vegetables are ready to remove from the oven, prepare the prawns
6. Place prawns in a steaming basket in a medium saucepan
7. Add vinegar, water, and two smashed garlic cloves and bring to a boil on medium heat
8. Steam 3-4 minutes, or just until the prawns turn pink, remove from steaming basket and set aside
9. Remove the roasted root vegetables from the oven and remove the two whole garlic cloves from the batch
10. Remove the garlic from their skins (the garlic will be soft from roasting) and using a mortar and pestle, combine the two garlic cloves with a pinch of sea salt and mash to a paste
11. Add the rosemary, juice of one lemon, and extra virgin olive oil. Stir to thoroughly combine
12. Toss the prawns with the roasted root vegetables and micro greens, then drizzle the vinaigrette over the entire salad and toss again
13. Allow guests to add their own crumbled Gorgonzola cheese and pine nuts

Serves 5-6 people

To see more photos of Cathi’s culinary creations check out her Flickr Photostream, The Brooklyn Ragazza!

Check out this slideshow of more great photo submissions we receieved!