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"I just chose dark chocolate, which is healthy for you," she says.
You heard right healthy for you. Dark chocolate contains flavonoids that act as cancer-preventative antioxidants. It has heart-healthy monounsaturated fat, and it balances the brain chemistry by increasing the serotonin levels.
But Ellen didn't stop there.
"I chose soy, which is recommended by the AHA to lower cholesterol. It is full of isoflavins, which are cancer fighters," she says. "Then I chose fruits, natural fruits, natural fruit purees that are unsweetened and raw nuts -- everything, actually, that has health benefits."
How exactly did Ellen come up with her recipe?
"I
was trying to make him a healthy chocolate pie," she admits, talking about
her husband, Henry. "It was too thick. I pulled off a piece of it, rolled
it into a ball, and I realized that's really a little chocolate truffle made
with healthy ingredients."
That's how the first Givere chocolate was born more than three years ago. Ellen christened her coconut-macadamia confection "Hawaiian Heaven."
Soon the demand from friends and family convinced Ellen to set up shop in her kitchen and to begin selling her truffles. "Peppermint Passion" and "French Chocolate Bombe" soon followed, along with Lisa Ryan's personal favorite, "Raspberry Rouge."
"One fat gram," Ellen boasts.
Just one fat gram. Did you catch that?
Adds Ellen, "Some gourmet truffles out there on the market, they are 8,9 grams of fat for a little chocolate truffle when ours tend to be one and two grams of fat, and it's the healthy kind of fat."
And those numbers have made even Hollywood take notice. At last year's Academy Awards, Givere Chocolatier was selected as the only chocolate to be included in the gift baskets given to presenters and performers.
"That was truly amazing! We feel like that was a blessing from God," says Ellen. "We do have the stars calling us and e-mailing us for the chocolate. Gwyneth Paltrow has ordered our chocolates, and we hear that Ashley Judd loves it and Shania Twain. I think that the people in Hollywood love naturally low-fat healthy-for-you truffles."
Ellen's truffles are even kosher.
The phenomenal success of her chocolate has taken Ellen out of the kitchen and into a factory. Her husband, Henry, quit his job as a financial analyst and joined her in the business.
"We're growing so fast, and we attribute that to having a huge desire to follow after God and to do the right thing and to work this business with integrity and to treat everybody with kindness," Ellen explains. "From this business as it grows, we're forming a foundation for children. It's our biggest desire to give to children in a big way. The name of our company, Givere, actually means "true giver."
Here is to indulging in the pleasures of guilt-free chocolate!
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