Another month slipped by drawling behind the winter itself. March is coming in two days and although it might still be cold, we shall soon welcome the spring. I am so impatient to relish the spring sun, to see the first grass probing out of the dark ground, to hear the birds, to smell the fragrance of the early flowers and to taste the fresh and light flavours of spring dishes that will follow the comforting, space-laden winter meals. But before the spring flowers unfold their petals, I would like to make a small recap of my February guest publications. In the Bulgarian magazine "The Woman Today" I wrote a material on the difference between diet and detox. I explained the physical reasons behind the failure of most diets. These are most often related to the toxin substances trapped in the fat tissues of the body. When you start dieting without cleansing your body, the fat tissue melts, releasing the toxins. They start circulating in the blood and might be very detrimental. That is why the self-controlling mechanisms of the body step in and do not allow the loss of fat. The proper approach to losing weight is therefore not dieting but detox. When you cleanse your body properly, you get rid of the toxins and losing weight is just a by-side product of this health-boosting process. In February I continued with the weekly publications in the Bulgarian website The Girls from the City - offering the readers of this lovely portal more ideas for meatless meals. We opened the month with a quick-lunch idea: a sandwich with wholegrain bread, tofu, red-beet and sprouts. Red beet remained the highlight in the recipe published in the week of Valentine: baked beetroot, shaped into hearts and served with nut cheese - a healthy, tasty and romantic way to express your love. Then followed my favourite classical French recipe for a salad made with Beluga lentils, raw marinated mushrooms, arugula, walnuts and goat cheese - all dressed well in a mustard vinaigrette. To wrap the month, I offered another sweet potatoes recipe -a layered potatoes, spinach and mushrooms dish - a lovely combination warming with its bright colours and its taste. Before I leave you with the recipe of the casserole, let me remind you of my Facebook page campaign Love your Health - every day I post on my page inspiring facts, tips, pictures, insights and ideas of how to love yourself and to boost your health. If you want these messages to reach you regularly, just like my page and if you want the messages to reach your friends, share it with them!

Layered Sweet Potatoes Casserole

Ingredients:

• 1 large sweet potato
• 300 gm spinach
• 250 gm mushrooms
• 200 ml non-diary milk
• 1 tsp coconut oil or ghee
• 1 tsp dry thyme
• ¼ tsp nutmeg
• ½ tsp turmeric
• salt & pepper

Preparation: Peel the potato, wash well and slice with a mandolin. Wash and chop the spinach and the mushrooms. Melt the ghee in a large saucepan, add the thyme, stir for 30 sec and add the mushrooms. After the mushrooms are stewed (3-4 min) add the spinach and toss for 2-3 min. Transfer in a bowl and pour the milk in the saucepan. Add the spices and stir to melt (1-2 min). Grease the bottom of a casserole and arrange one layer of potatoes followed by one layer of the mushrooms-spinach filling. Continue until potatoes and the filling are over, finishing with a potato-layer. Unless you want the dish strictly vegan, you may top it with some hard cheese. Preheat the oven to 180С and bake for 40 min.