Tanuja Paruchuri has a knack for transforming decadent treats into something surprisingly good for your waistline, taste uncompromised.

She runs the artisan chocolate company, The Chocolate Sutra, and has recently launched another culinary venture called Food for Thin.

Food for Thin Fast Facts

Owner: Tanuja Paruchuri

Founded: 2010

Home Base: Chevy Chase, Maryland

In the last few years Tanuja has completely revamped her diet, and Food for Thin’s products are based on sharing her personal lifestyle transformation with others.

After being overweight as long as she could remember, Tanuja’s circumstances changed when she decided she wanted to be healthy more than she wanted to be thin.

She tapped into the online food community and started learning healthy cooking techniques from blogs like Elana’s Pantry and others on foodgawker.com.

As she experimented with new ways of cooking and baking, Tanuja achieved her goal of better health and experienced serious weightloss, going from a size 10 to zero, which she likes to call icing on the cake.

Tanjua was so encouraged by what she learned through her personal health transformation, she felt obligated to share it.

“I discovered this. I was able to do it after being overweight almost all my life. I know it can be done, and I know it’s not as hard as everybody thinks. People can still have things that taste good, and you can still eat what you what want. It’s just got to be more controlled.”

The control happens at the ingredient level, not the taste level.

Food for Thin’s products include healthy cupcakes, cookies, and scones, most of which are flourless, gluten free, and dairy free. (Note: Some products are vegan — see Tanuja’s comment below.)

The lineup is a natural expansion of her dairy free chocolate truffles. She’s refined the traditional recipes using healthful ingredient substitutions, incorporating them so skillfully that the flavor isn’t weakened one bit.

Tanuja wants people to enjoy eating a healthy diet, staying motivated and satisfied with taste-worthy alternatives.

“One of my major goals is to get people understand that healthy eating doesn’t have to be bland, doesn’t have to be boring. It can really, really taste good — even desserts.”

What is Fooducopia?

Our mission is simple — we connect food entrepreneurs and local farmers to customers across the country. If you’d like to discover more artisan foods filled with the heart and soul of people like Tanuja Paruchuri, Fooducopia is a place we think you’ll love.

Imagine a decadent chocolate truffle.

Is it creamy? Is it rich?

Is it–healthy?

It can be, and Tanuja Paruchuri–creator of the dairy free chocolate truffle company, The Chocolate Sutra–is here to show you how.

“I don’t want people to think that chocolate is an unhealthy food. It’s not.”

Bittersweet chocolate and 100-percent cocoa powder–like Tanuja uses in her truffles–are not designated problem foods. It’s usually the ingredients paired with chocolate (e.g., processed sugar and butter) that make it seem unhealthy, Tanuja argues.

Tanuja Paruchuri

But when combined with organic honey, pure maple syrup, fruits, herbs, and coconut milk into a bite of deliciously complex flavor, chocolate becomes a perfectly acceptable indulgence.

Perhaps that’s why Tanuja named her truffle company The Chocolate Sutra, referencing the popular Kama Sutra text meaning “pleasure guide.”

Mainstream luxury chocolate brands don’t seem to impress Tanuja. Godiva, she says, uses vanillin, a synthetic vanilla flavoring, and high-fructose corn syrup in their truffles. However, four Godiva truffles will cost you $9 while The Chocolate Sutra charges only $8 for the same. “If they’re charging such a premium, they shouldn’t be using such cheap products,” she said. May the best chocolate truffles win!

Tanuja made her first batch of truffles as a holiday gift for co-workers in 2008. Her boyfriend, who served as taste-tester, immediately suggested she go into business. She spent over a year perfecting her artisan chocolate recipes. By March 2010, she felt ready to launch The Chocolate Sutra and has been selling her dairy free chocolate ever since.

The Chocolate Sutra’s truffle flavors include:

• Cardamon
• Classic Bittersweet
• Coconut*
• Lemon Mint*
• Strawberry

Have a question about The Chocolate Sutra’s truffles? Just ask!

What is Fooducopia?

Our mission is simple — we connect food entrepreneurs and local farmers to customers across the country. If you’d like to discover more artisan foods filled with the heart and soul of people like Tanuja Paruchuri, Fooducopia is a place we think you’ll love.

*These flavors contain dairy because they are made with white chocolate.