What is a Gluten-free Okara cookie?

What is Gluten?

Gluten is a protein generated from some grains including wheat, barley, and rye. When it comes to wheat, in particular, wheat flour is primarily composed of starch and protein, and there are two types of protein: gliadin and glutenin. When water is added, these proteins bind and form gluten. Food which does not contain gluten, or wheat, is called “gluten-free.”

Why is it not good to take in too much wheat?

Here are the reasons that have been pointed out:

As wheat contains gliadin which promotes appetite, you may find it difficult to have the feeling of fullness from eating wheat, which can result in overeating.
Wheat contains amylopectin which can rapidly increase blood sugar, promote glycation, and thus lead to fat accumulation.
It can interfere with digestion of carbohydrates and protein.
It can cause allergic symptoms.
The intestinal environment can deteriorate.

Is “obesity disease” different from obesity?

Obesity and obesity disease are different. In Japan, a body mass index (BMI) greater than or equal to 25 is defined as obesity. When an obese person has any disease of the 11 health disorders associated with obesity, they are diagnosed with obesity disease. [In most of the world, a BMI of 30 or higher is taken to mean the person is obese, but the criteria for obesity is slightly different in Japan.]

About 20 million people in Japan are estimated to have obesity disease including those who are at risk of it. Also, metabolic syndrome, a group of conditions related to the abdominal (visceral) fat obesity, raises the risk of developing diseases. In research conducted by the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, the number of people who may fall into the category of obesity disease is projected to be more than 3.67 million for men aged 20-39, 12.47 million for men aged 40 and higher, 0.77 million for women aged 20-39 and 6.41 million for women aged 40 and higher.

Merit #1

Since soy protein is low in calories, it can have a good effect on the blood cholesterol and blood pressure. It is also said to make the blood vessel healthy, which helps prevent the arteries from hardening. Soybeans also contain isoflavone which is similar in function to estrogen, a kind of hormone that has an important role in the health of women. Thus, we recommend women take soybeans.

Merit #2

Soybeans are rich in dietary fiber, which promotes peristalsis, the wave-like movement of the muscle walls that pushes the food through the digestive tract. Thus, eating soybeans will bring a good effect to your body regardless of sex. We recommend you should consider changing the eating habit if you can’t help eating sweets and junk food. You will obtain the happiness of good health.

Made with carefully selected ingredients and delivered right to your door.

You can get dietary fiber equivalent to a lettuce (about 400g) with about three cookies.

＜Main ingredients＞
Okara, Vegetable oil, Sudakito, Rice flour, Dried okara, Salt and Aluminum-free baking powder. Other ingredients including powders and fruit juice are used depending on different types of cookies.
*We use the vegetable oil that contains only 0.6 g of trans fat per 100 g.

What is Sudakito?
It is a type of sugar made with 100% sugar cane from Amami Islands in Japan. It is carefully cooked with a great deal of time and care. It features rich minerals and gentle sweetness.

Our authentic okara cookies are made with the extensive experience and sophisticated skill of Yukio Nishio, nationally well-known pastry chef who is 1st grade ginoshi (nationally certified technician) of western confectionery making. He has also received a series of awards such as the MAFF (Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries) Director-General Award at the National Food Fair, the Chairman Award at the National Confectionary Exposition and the Kitanippon Shimbun President Award of Japan Institute of Invention and Innovation.

We are aware of many of the common complaints about existing okara cookies or gluten-free cookies, saying they are “too bland,” “too hard” and “they have a dry and crumbly texture.”
With the cooperation of the pastry chef with a long experience of studying okara and our effort of co-development as a product development company committed to bringing the best of local ingredients, we succeeded in resolving those complaints and created the cookies that are completely different from existing okara cookies.

See our cookies