The idea of founding Lubifood came after the discovery of Echigo rice in Asia. At the age of three, my daughter was diagnosed with a metabolic disorder called Homocystinuria. At that moment, our life changed 360°. It meant embarking on a low-protein diet, which is one of the strictest diets in the world. We had to switch from our normal eating habits to a strict low-protein diet, which was not easy. Excluding such foods from our diet as meat, milk, eggs, cereals, rice, flour was unimaginable for us. And what am I going to cook? But we had no choice and we had to get used to the diet. Potatoes, fruits and vegetables remained the main source of food on a low-protein diet. It was very difficult to find recipes and flavours that would suit my daughter as she had been eating everything for 3 years.

As a mother, I missed rice in my diet, which can be easily combined with vegetables. With rice we can make different vegetable side dishes, risotto, vegan sushi, sweet rice puddings, curry sauces, etc. Ordinary rice has an average of 6-8g of protein per 100g, which is unacceptable for us. For someone, 6g of protein represents the total daily intake. As I wanted only the best for my daughter, I spent days on the internet looking for new low-protein foods. Unless, of course, I was cooking in the kitchen. It took time and money to try out what all the market had to offer.
But I still missed rice, because you can’t eat a rice substitute. At least for me.

Fate, God, faith, the law of attraction – call it what you will, led me to the Philippines, where I discovered Echigo rice. Real real rice with low protein. No substitute, a rice substitute that tastes like nothing. Woow. We wonder how this is possible. And that’s where my journey began.