Drool Worthy Turtle Bars

I'm about to share a recipe with you all that is so drool worthy you'll be hard pressed not to eat the whole pan in one sitting. I won't even blame you if you do!

First things first, I LOVE caramel. Chocolate filled with caramel, caramel flavored coffee, caramel apples, salted caramel ice cream; you name it if it has caramel in it- I'd likely love it. Except maybe caramel covered crickets. My taste buds aren't that adventurous, although maybe one day.

Being from Connecticut, I do pronounce it CARE-A-MEL. Don't come at me please! Anyways, caramel anything just brings back so many great memories of the beautiful Autumn weather and adventures I had as a kid so it's no wonder that I find comfort in anything covered in this divine drizzly sugar concoction.

Now that I'm a certified nutrition coach, one of my favorite challenges is taking recipes that I love and adapting them to fit into my and my clients meals plans. While yes, sugar is still sugar and ultimately does have the same effects on our insulin levels and should be consume with an awareness and in moderation, I do believe that the quality/source of the sugar matters.

One of the foundations I help my clients establish is tuning into food labels and understanding that not all food is created equal, and quality can make a huge difference. I love empowering my clients to try new things and learn new skills in the kitchen so they can have their cake and yes, eat it too! I have never been an advocate for cutting out food groups as that simply leads to us desiring what we can't have even more. When we put ourselves in the mindset of lack, it's a huge proponent of why so many "fall off the wagon" with their diets. I believe nutrition is a mindset choice and a lifestyle. If you treat it like a diet, it will only serve you for the length of time you're willing and able to commit to it which for most of us who value our tastebuds, is not very long. The way to stick with something is to actually enjoy what you're doing. So I am 100% that nutrition coach that believe you need to eat what makes you happy in moderation and find healthier alternatives where and when you can.

OKAY NOW BACK TO THE TURTLE BARS! So if you read my most recent post which was inspired clearly by shark week, you can probably understand why this post so closely follows.

It was 9:30 at night and I was so desperately craving a little something-something sweet after dinner. I had my eye (and my stomach) on this praline bar recipe I saw on Pinterest. Now of course this recipe had 0 nutritional value aside from the pecans which were coated in sugar of every kind and topped off with, well, more sugar. I knew that particular recipe wasn't going to serve my body or be at all conducive to a good night's sleep. SO instead I whipped up these bars! They came together fairly quickly. Enough for me to cut off a little nibble and feel satisfied before placing the rest in the fridge overnight to set and share with friends the next day.

These take about 25 minutes to put together and I highly recommend letting them set in the fridge for a few hours before busting into them because they are worth the wait and so good chilled! But if soft and gooey is more your style- have at it! If you give them a try, snap a pic and post to your instagram story and tag me! I'd love to see how they came out!