One of the most misunderstood ingredients… and one of the most rewarding Few ingredients have suffered quite so much from their name. Because despite being called buckwheat, it isn’t wheat. And it doesn’t contain gluten. In fact, it isn’t even a cereal. Buckwheat is what’s known as a pseudocereal, much like quinoa. It has been cultivated across Asia and Europe for centuries, long before anyone talked about gluten-free diets, and has always held a respected place in traditional cooking. It may not be the best-known grain. But it is certainly one of the most remarkable. An ingredient with real character Some ingredients quietly blend into the background. Buckwheat isn’t one of them. It has a distinctive toasted flavour with gentle nutty notes that bring depth and complexity to baking. That’s exactly why we love it. It doesn’t try to imitate wheat. It celebrates being something entirely different. Why we love it At Milola, every ingredient has to earn its place. Buckwheat does so in many ways. Naturally gluten-free: Buckwheat is naturally gluten-free, making it an excellent choice for people living with coeliac disease or anyone wanting to enjoy a broader variety of grains. Rich in fibre: Its natural fibre supports healthy digestion and helps keep you feeling satisfied for longer. A complete plant protein: Buckwheat is unusual among plant foods because it naturally contains all nine essential amino acids. That makes it a particularly valuable source of plant-based protein within a balanced diet. Naturally rich in minerals and antioxidants: Buckwheat provides important minerals including magnesium, iron and copper. It also contains rutin, a naturally occurring antioxidant that has been widely studied for its potential role in supporting cardiovascular health. Much more than a gluten-free alternative For many years, buckwheat has been treated simply as a replacement for wheat. We think it deserves much more than that. Its value doesn’t come from what it lacks. It comes from everything it brings. Flavour. Texture. Character. And a culinary identity entirely its own. How to cook with buckwheat Buckwheat is remarkably versatile. You’ll find it both as whole groats and as flour. It’s wonderful in: Artisan breads. Cookies. Cakes. Pancakes. Crêpes. Warm salads. Soups. Grain bowls. In Brittany, it’s the star ingredient of traditional savoury galettes. In Japan, it is the main ingredient in soba noodles. Across Eastern Europe, it has been enjoyed for generations as an everyday staple. Few ingredients have travelled so widely. Why we use buckwheat at Milola Because it brings exactly what we’re looking for. A delicate texture. A rich, distinctive flavour. And the kind of complexity that makes our recipes taste like something far more interesting than “gluten-free cookies.” We’re not trying to recreate traditional recipes without wheat. We want to create other new ones that are just as good (or better). Buckwheat helps us do exactly that. A small celebration of buckwheat Sometimes the finest ingredients are the ones that never try to be something else. Buckwheat doesn’t try to be wheat. And perhaps that’s its greatest strength. It has nourished people for thousands of years. It has travelled across cultures and cuisines. And it reminds us that true culinary diversity often begins with something beautifully simple. At Milola, buckwheat is part of our recipes because we believe great cooking isn’t about replacing. It’s about discovering.
One of the world’s most familiar grains… and one of its most overlooked Some ingredients hardly need introducing. Rice is certainly one of them. For thousands of years, it has nourished cultures across every continent. Yet one version of it often receives far less attention than it deserves. Brown rice. And we believe it deserves considerably more prominence. Not because it’s fashionable. But because it preserves much of what makes the grain so valuable in the first place. What makes brown rice different? The difference is surprisingly simple. White rice is produced by removing the outer layers of the grain, brown rice keeps them. That means it retains the bran and the germ, where much of the fibre, vitamins, minerals and naturally occurring antioxidants are found. Although both come from exactly the same grain, their nutritional profiles are remarkably different. Why we love it At Milola, we never choose an ingredient for just one reason. It has to contribute flavour. Texture. And purpose. Brown rice does all three. Naturally gluten-free. Brown rice is naturally gluten-free, making it an excellent choice for people living with coeliac disease or anyone looking to enjoy a wider variety of grains. Rich in fibre. Because it keeps its bran layer, brown rice contains considerably more fibre than white rice. That supports healthy digestion and helps you feel satisfied for longer. Slow, steady energy. Like many whole grains, brown rice releases its carbohydrates more gradually than refined grains. The result is a steadier source of energy throughout the day. Naturally rich in vitamins and minerals. Brown rice provides important minerals including magnesium, phosphorus and selenium, as well as B vitamins that support many essential metabolic functions. Naturally occurring antioxidants. The bran also contains antioxidant compounds that help protect the body’s cells from oxidative stress. A simple flour with extraordinary potential It’s easy to assume the most sophisticated ingredients are always the most interesting. We don’t think that’s true. A beautifully milled brown rice flour can be something rather special. Especially when it comes from exceptional grain and is produced with care. The brown rice flour we use at Milola comes from Valencia, on Spain’s Mediterranean coast. Whenever possible, we choose ingredients that are both exceptional in quality and close to home. Every ingredient in our recipes has earned its place. Why we use brown rice in our cookies Because it contributes far more than structure. It creates a delicate texture. A gentle flavour that allows the other ingredients to shine. And a nutritional profile that reflects the way we believe food should be made. We’re not trying to make “gluten-free products.” We’re trying to create recipes so delicious that gluten simply stops being the most interesting thing about them. In defense of brown rice For many years, brown rice has been seen mainly as “healthy food.” We think it deserves a better reputation. It’s remarkably versatile. Elegant in its simplicity. Nutritious. And capable of bringing real character to a recipe when treated with care. That’s why it appears in so many of our bakes. Because the finest ingredients aren’t always the rarest ones. Sometimes they’re the ones we’ve known all our lives… We simply needed to learn to see them differently.
The story behind Milola By Manuela García, Founder of Milola. “I dreamed of creating a place where no one would ever feel left out of the table.” Some moments quietly change the course of your life. Mine happened almost thirty years ago, while I was living in London. For as long as I could remember, I’d lived with fragile health. Allergies. Digestive problems. Constant discomfort. Medication. It had become so normal that I assumed it was simply part of who I was. Until one doctor asked a different question. And changed the way I ate forever. He removed gluten, dairy and several other foods from my diet. Almost overnight, my health improved. But something else disappeared too. A great deal of the joy I had always found in food. When food stops being about sharing Today it’s difficult to imagine what that meant. There was no Google. No social media. No food blogs. Hardly any gluten-free products. The tiny free-from shelf at the supermarket was disappointing at best. At the time, I was working in a beautiful French pâtisserie in Chelsea. Every morning we prepared some of the most exquisite pastries I’d ever seen. And I couldn’t eat almost any of them. That’s when I realised something I’ve never forgotten. Food is never just food. It’s celebration. Family. Friendship. Culture. Travel. Care. And when you can’t fully take part in those moments, it doesn’t simply feel like you’ve changed your diet. It feels as though you’ve been left out of something much bigger. Starting again I became obsessed with learning. I spent hours in libraries trying to understand what gluten actually was. I wandered through London’s markets discovering ingredients I’d never encountered before. I realised the world was so much bigger than wheat. Sorghum in Indian cooking. Millet and quinoa in Latin American cuisine. Teff in Ethiopian food. Buckwheat. Tapioca. Psyllium. Then came the experiments. There were plenty of failures. More than I can count. But slowly, something began to change. The recipes no longer felt like substitutes. They were simply… delicious. The idea that became Milola Eventually I realised I wasn’t trying to make gluten-free food. I was trying to recover something much more important. The feeling of sitting around a table without feeling different. Without explaining yourself. Without compromising. Without settling for a second-rate version of what everyone else was enjoying. That’s how Milola began. Not as a cookie brand. Not as a bakery. But as an idea. To create a place where everyone belongs around the table. Mediterranean at heart I was born on the Mediterranean coast. In a family where every meaningful conversation happened around the table. Where cooking was an act of love. And sharing food was simply how we cared for one another. That’s why I’ve never believed we have to choose between wellbeing and pleasure. I believe the two belong together. It’s the question that still guides every recipe we create. How can something taste genuinely wonderful and also make you feel good? From one small bakery to thousands of tables For many years that idea lived inside a small bakery in Mataró, near Barcelona. Something extraordinary happened there. Every weekend, families travelled from all over Spain. They didn’t come just to buy a cake. They came because, for a few hours, they could stop asking what they were allowed to eat. They could simply enjoy being together. That experience confirmed everything we believed. Today our products are made in a much larger bakery so they can reach thousands of homes. But the idea remains exactly the same. What Milola stands for We don’t believe anyone should have to choose between health and pleasure. Between nourishment and indulgence. Between taking care of themselves and celebrating life. We believe great food can bring all of those things together. Most of all, we believe no one should ever feel like the odd one out around the table. Because being excluded from a generous table is, in many ways, being excluded from life itself. And that’s still the reason we switch on our ovens every single morning.
A tiny grain with thousands of years of history Ask someone to name a few grains and you’ll probably hear the same answers. Wheat. Rice. Corn. Oats. Maybe quinoa. But there’s another grain that has nourished millions of people for thousands of years and still remains surprisingly unfamiliar to many of us. It’s called millet. And we think it deserves far more attention than it gets. An old favourite in many parts of the world Millet has been cultivated across Africa and Asia for thousands of years. For generations, it has been an everyday staple for one simple reason: It’s nourishing. Resilient. Versatile. And remarkably enjoyable to cook with. It may not be the world’s most famous grain. But it’s certainly one of its oldest. Why we love it At Milola, every ingredient earns its place. Millet ticks many of the boxes we look for. Naturally gluten-free Millet is naturally gluten-free, making it an excellent choice for people with coeliac disease or anyone looking to bring greater variety to the grains they eat. Rich in nutrients It provides complex carbohydrates, fibre, plant protein and important minerals such as magnesium, phosphorus and iron. It also contains B vitamins and naturally occurring antioxidants. It’s not a miracle food. But it is a genuinely nutritious ingredient that deserves a place in a balanced diet. Easy to digest Its fibre supports healthy digestion and contributes to a healthy gut. Like many whole grains, it also helps keep you feeling satisfied for longer. Slow, steady energy Compared with many refined grains, millet has a relatively low glycaemic index. That means it releases energy more gradually, helping to avoid dramatic spikes in blood sugar after meals. Better for the planet too There’s another reason we’re so fond of millet. It’s an incredibly resilient crop. It needs less water than many other grains. It copes well with drought. And it thrives in places where more demanding crops struggle. As agriculture adapts to a changing climate, traditional grains like millet are becoming increasingly relevant once again. By incorporating millet into our cookies, we also support more environmentally friendly agriculture. How to cook with millet If you’ve never cooked millet before, you’ll probably be surprised by how versatile it is. Try it in: Warm salads. Grain bowls. Soups. Stews. Porridge. Veggie burgers. You can cook it much like rice or quinoa. Its flour also works beautifully in gluten-free breads, cakes and baking. Why we use millet at Milola Because we like our recipes to taste good. Because we want every ingredient in our recipes to contribute something meaningful. Millet brings flavour. A delicate, tender texture. And a unique personality that combines very well with other Mediterranean ingredients. We’re not trying to imitate wheat. We’re far more interested in discovering everything other grains have to offer. A small defence of millet For a very long time we’ve expected one grain to do almost everything. Bread. Pasta. Flour. Cookies. Pastries. Perhaps it’s time to rediscover the extraordinary diversity that has always existed. Not to replace one grain with another. But to welcome more variety back to our tables. Millet has nourished people for thousands of years. We’re delighted that it can now become part of ours too.
What non-coeliac gluten sensitivity is and how to live well with it. Some people receive a clear diagnosis of coeliac disease. Others follow a more confusing path. The tests are normal. The biopsy is normal. The blood work is normal. And yet something still doesn’t feel right. Abdominal discomfort. Bloating. Fatigue. Brain fog. The persistent feeling that certain foods simply don’t agree with you. For many people, the answer may lie in non-coeliac gluten sensitivity. What is non-coeliac gluten sensitivity? Non-coeliac gluten sensitivity (NCGS) is a condition in which people experience symptoms related to eating gluten without showing the immune response or intestinal damage seen in coeliac disease. It is not an autoimmune disease. It does not cause the intestinal damage associated with coeliac disease. But that does not mean the symptoms aren’t real. In fact, they can have a significant impact on quality of life. Common symptoms: Symptoms can vary considerably from person to person, but some of the most common include: Digestive symptoms: Abdominal pain Bloating Diarrhoea Constipation Nausea General symptoms: Fatigue Headaches Muscle and joint pain Other possible symptoms: Difficulty concentrating or “brain fog” Memory problems Mood changes Anxiety Skin rashes Anaemia For many people, these symptoms appear shortly after eating gluten and improve once it is removed from the diet. A condition that is still being studied. Non-coeliac gluten sensitivity remains an active area of research. There are still important questions about the mechanisms behind it and the role that other components found in certain grains may play alongside gluten itself. For this reason, diagnosis should always involve individual assessment by a healthcare professional. How is it diagnosed? At present, there is no specific test for NCGS. As a result, diagnosis usually involves ruling out other conditions that do have clear diagnostic tools available. Excluding coeliac disease and wheat allergy. This is typically the first step and often includes blood tests and, where necessary, additional investigations. Clinical assessment. A healthcare professional will review symptoms, medical history and any possible links between symptoms and specific foods. Elimination and reintroduction. Once other causes have been excluded, a temporary gluten-free diet followed by a controlled reintroduction of gluten may help determine whether symptoms return. One important recommendation. Don’t remove gluten from your diet before speaking with a healthcare professional. Doing so can make it harder to diagnose other important conditions, particularly coeliac disease. Living with non-coeliac gluten sensitivity. For many people, adjusting their diet can lead to significant improvements in how they feel. Some strategies that often help include: Prioritise foods that are naturally gluten-free. Fruit. Vegetables. Legumes. Eggs. Nuts. Rice. Quinoa. Millet. Sorghum. Teff. Nature already provides far more options than we sometimes realise. Learn to read labels. Understanding ingredients and identifying hidden sources of gluten can bring both confidence and peace of mind. Look for patterns. Keeping a food and symptom diary can help identify which foods make you feel your best and which do not. Seek professional guidance. A dietitian with experience in digestive health can help you build a balanced diet while avoiding unnecessary restrictions. The question many people ask themselves. “If I’m not coeliac, why do I feel better without gluten?” The answer is not always straightforward. But there is one important thing worth remembering: Listening to your body is not the same as self-diagnosing. And looking for answers does not mean your symptoms are imaginary. A reflection that also forms part of Milola’s story. Years ago, we noticed something interesting. People arrived with very different experiences. Coeliac disease. Gluten sensitivity. Digestive intolerances. Or simply the feeling that reducing certain ingredients helped them feel better. But they all had one thing in common. They wanted to enjoy food again. They wanted to sit around the table without anxiety. They wanted to stop choosing between looking after themselves and enjoying what they ate. That is still exactly what we try to build every day. The goal isn’t to eliminate foods. The goal is to feel better. To have more energy. To enjoy meals more. To better understand how your body responds. Because food shouldn’t become a constant source of stress or worry. As far as possible, it should remain a source of wellbeing, pleasure and peace of mind. And that is a goal worth pursuing.
What coeliac disease is and how to live well with it. Receiving a diagnosis of coeliac disease can bring many emotions at once. Relief at finally putting a name to symptoms that may have been following you for years. Uncertainty about the changes that lie ahead. And, very often, a question that appears almost immediately: What now? The good news is that coeliac disease is entirely compatible with a full, active and delicious life. But let’s start at the beginning. What is coeliac disease? Coeliac disease is a chronic autoimmune condition triggered by the consumption of gluten, a protein naturally found in wheat, barley and rye. In people with coeliac disease, eating gluten causes the immune system to attack the lining of the small intestine, damaging the tiny villi responsible for absorbing nutrients. Over time, this damage can lead to nutritional deficiencies and affect many different systems throughout the body. Although we now know that coeliac disease is relatively common, many people still remain undiagnosed. Common symptoms: Coeliac disease can present itself in many different ways and does not always affect only the digestive system. Some of the most common symptoms include: Digestive symptoms: Abdominal pain Bloating Diarrhoea Nausea Vomiting General symptoms: Persistent fatigue Unexplained weight loss Iron-deficiency anaemia Nutritional deficiencies Other possible symptoms: Osteopenia or osteoporosis Recurrent mouth ulcers Dermatitis herpetiformis Delayed growth in children Importantly, the absence of obvious digestive symptoms does not rule out coeliac disease. How is it diagnosed? Diagnosis should always be carried out by a healthcare professional, usually a gastroenterologist. The process often includes: Blood tests To detect antibodies associated with coeliac disease, including: Tissue transglutaminase antibodies (tTG) Endomysial antibodies (EMA) Endoscopy and biopsy If blood tests suggest coeliac disease, an endoscopy with biopsy is often performed to assess damage to the intestinal villi. Genetic testing In some cases, genetic testing may be used to identify the HLA-DQ2 and HLA-DQ8 genes, which are present in the vast majority of people with coeliac disease. One important point: don’t remove gluten before testing Many people decide to stop eating gluten before seeking medical advice. Unfortunately, doing so can affect test results and make diagnosis more difficult or delay confirmation. If you suspect you may have coeliac disease, speak to a healthcare professional before making dietary changes. Living with coeliac disease – At present, the only effective treatment is a strict gluten-free diet for life. At first, it can feel overwhelming. Reading labels. Learning about unfamiliar ingredients. Understanding cross-contamination. Asking endless questions in restaurants. But something interesting happens. Over time, it stops feeling like a limitation and simply becomes another way of organising everyday life. And fortunately, there are far more options, resources and communities available today than there were even a few years ago. A few things that often help: Learn to read labels: Understanding ingredients and certifications is one of the most powerful ways to gain confidence and peace of mind. Prioritise foods that are naturally gluten-free: Fruit. Vegetables. Legumes. Eggs. Nuts. Rice. Quinoa. Millet. Nature already offers many safe options. Cook more at home: Not out of obligation, but because it helps rebuild confidence and opens the door to discovering new ingredients and recipes. Find your community: Patient organisations, healthcare professionals and others living with coeliac disease can become an invaluable source of support, especially in the early months. The search that eventually became Milola: Years ago, when we had to rethink the way we ate, we discovered something that surprised us. Finding gluten-free products was difficult. Finding truly good ones was even harder. Many seemed designed simply to replace what was missing. We wanted something different. We wanted flavour. Texture. Recognisable ingredients. And the feeling of being able to sit around a table without feeling as though we were eating a second-rate version of something everyone else was enjoying. Milola was born from that search. A full life is still a full life. Coeliac disease changes some things. But it doesn’t change what matters most. Long conversations around the table still exist. Travelling still exists. Celebrations still exist. And the pleasure of sharing good food with the people you love still exists too. Sometimes it simply needs new recipes to find its place at the table again. And thankfully, that becomes easier every year. Because life already comes with enough compromises. Food shouldn’t have to be one of them.
Discover what gluten is, how it affects your health, and who should avoid it. Learn about celiac disease and gluten sensitivity with Milola Gluten-Free.
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