Avocados
Artichokes (globe)
Broccoli
Celeriac
Rocket
Aubergines
Turnip
Shallots
Fresh beetroot
Fresh horseradish (or shop-bought horseradish sauce)
As well as any fruits and vegetables in season …
Fish & meat and meat substitutes
Trout fillets
Smoked trout fillets
Skinless, boneless turkey breasts
Slices of turkey ham
Loin of lamb
Salmon fillets
Slices of smoked salmon
Fillet of beef
Organic silken tofu (or hemp tofu if you can get it)
Char caviar
Grains, pulses, nuts and seeds
Walnuts
Pumpkin seeds
Almonds
Whole linseeds
Chickpeas (dried)
Sesame seeds
Amaranth seeds
Ground oats
Buckwheat flour
Millet
Corn flakes
Spelt flour
Rice flakes
Soya flour
Polenta
Potato flour (an Italian deli should sell this)
Risotto rice
Herbs & spices
Note: some of the dried herbs can be found at your local health-food shop
Fresh ginger
Fresh lemon verbena
Fresh dill
Fresh chervil
Fresh tarragon
Fresh lovage
Fresh coriander
Fresh thyme
Fresh rosemary stalks
Fresh marjoram
Fresh mint
Fresh parsley
Fresh or dried fennel
Fresh lemongrass
Fresh basil
Cinnamon sticks
Ground cloves
Ground ginger
Ground cinnamon
Nutmeg
Vermouth
Dried caraway seeds
Dried yarrow
Dried horsetail
Dried birch leaves
You may also want to consider getting some crystals to energise and purify your water; rose quartz is a great choice, if you can get it.
So no doughnuts and no deep-fried Mars bars – funny that. If the list looks sadly lacking in sugar hits, just remember that your taste buds will change in a few days and you will no longer crave all those sweet things. You are perfectly capable of living without them, and you will start to feel and look better very quickly as a result of eating the kinds of foods listed above, which actually have some nutritional value.
Going off-piste?
It’s perfectly acceptable to create your own meals rather than following the suggested menu plans, although you may want to try them for a few days first, to get the hang of the way food is prepared at Viva Mayr. Here, you’ll find hints for cooking the Viva Mayr way, and a little later in this section you’ll find out what foods you need, and why you should be eating them. By all means experiment with the foods listed above, or choose some of your own. The key words are fresh, organic (if possible), varied and whole. So get plenty of different whole grains, fresh, brightly coloured fruits and vegetables, a little fresh, lean meat and fish, some good-quality seeds and nuts, plenty of fresh herbs, organic eggs and some dairy – sheep and goat’s, if you can; otherwise, cow’s milk dairy produce will be fine, too. The most important things you can and should purchase are cold-pressed oils, which feature every single day on the Viva Mayr Diet (see here).
What about sugar?
When I ask Dr Stossier what type of sugar is best for us to eat, he is very firm when he responds.
‘No sugar – that’s the best sugar you can have.’
But that’s totally and utterly impossible. How can anyone possibly live without sugar? I mean, even if you wanted to, how could you avoid it? Is there such a thing as sugar-free shortbread biscuits?
‘I know it’s difficult,’ he concedes, ‘but the fact is that you don’t need any more sugar than you get from the food you already eat. We get so many different forms of carbohydrates that it is not necessary to add more.’
I ask him if brown sugar is better. Apparently it is not. How irritating is that? I have spent the last 20 years taking
