Three winners from Meatless Monday recipe contest

Black Bean Mole Stew, Lentil and Wild Rice Stuffed Zucchini and Red Coconut Curry with Tofu are the three winning recipes in the 2012 C-CAP Meatless Monday Recipe Contest. Thousands of C-CAP (Careers through Culinary Arts Program) high school seniors worked with their culinary arts teachers to create original meatless entrees for the contest.  Each C-CAP school was invited to submit a recipe and photo; seven recipes went on to the finals, where the judging panel selected three winners.

Nicole Caceres of John Marshall High School in Los Angeles won the first prize $5,000 scholarship for her Black Bean Mole Stew.  Second place honors and a $3,000 scholarship went to Danielle Hill of Western Branch High School in Chesapeake, VA for her Lentil and Wild Rice Stuffed Zucchini recipe. Mary Geyer of Lane Tech College Prep and Gallery 37 AAEP in Chicago won the $2,000 third prize scholarship for her Red Coconut Curry with Tofu creation.

C-CAP provides education, scholarships, and career opportunities in the culinary arts to underserved youth. Meatless Monday is an initiative of The Monday Campaigns in association with the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. The initiative provides healthy and environmentally friendly recipes and information. The campaign goal is to cut saturated fat intake, thereby reducing the risk of chronic diseases. Going meatless one day a week can also decrease our carbon footprint.

Check out the winning recipes from these teen chefs:

• Black Bean Mole Stew

• Lentil and Wild Rice Stuffed Zucchini

• Red Coconut Curry with Tofu