The businesses had to follow guidelines provided by heart and diabetic associations.

FARMINGTON – The Granary Brew Pub and Restaurant’s Portabella Caprese al Pesto was the first place winner at the Veggie Madness Restaurant Contest at Moonlight Madness this summer.

Judges for the contest included Claire Andrews, facilitator of the local Weight Watchers group; Steve Bull from WKTJ, Roz Kerr, member of the Nutrition Task Force; and Dr. Dora Ann Mills, director of the State Bureau of Health and a Farmington native.

The Veggie Madness contest was sponsored by the Nutrition Task Force of the Healthy Community Coalition. The goal was to promote increased consumption of vegetables and fruits by area residents. In Franklin County, only 28 percent of adults consume the recommended five servings of vegetables and fruits a day. This contest is part of a countywide effort to increase that number.

“Judging was fun, but it was difficult too!” said Roz Kerr. “We were fortunate to have some great contestants, and choosing the winning dish was tough. We are so fortunate to have these excellent restaurants in our community that know how to combine good taste with good health.”

The winning entry submitted by the Granary consisted of a portabella mushroom dipped in Eggbeaters, then lightly breaded followed by sauteing in extra virgin olive oil. The mushroom then was topped with pesto, fresh tomatoes and fresh mozzarella cheese.

Second place went to a Thai Red Curry Chicken and Vegetable soup from Soup to You. The soup consisted of carrots, zucchini and green beans with boneless, skinless chicken breast in a coconut and seafood base and red Thai curry.

Honorable mentions went to Buddha’s Delight from the New Great Wall Chinese restaurant in Wilton and a Greek Salad with feta dressing from Athena’s Restaurant, also in Wilton.

The restaurants were given guidelines based on recommendations from the American Heart Association and the American Dietetic Association and included having cup of a vegetable per serving and being reasonably low in fat and salt. Entries were judged on these guidelines, plus being flavorful and eye appealing. Once the judges tried each entry, the public was invited to sample the dishes and offer their comments.