My new Fitbit!

Well, as you may know, I have been on a healthy eating plan since the beginning of the month.  So far, so good!  I have some friends who own Fitbits, so I thought I would give it a try, and I love it!!!  It is  a great motivator for me.  For those of you who don't know about it, it is a fitness device that tracks your steps, food, sleep, water and lots more.  You download the app either on your phone or computer and sync.  It can also be synced with My Fitness Pal which is another great app.  Here is a picture of what it looks like.

Mine is the Fitbit Flex.  I have been averaging about 13,000 steps per day.  It tells me my calories burned and what calories I have left in my bank.  It costs $99.00 and you can buy them at Best Buy as well as on Amazon or the Fitbit site.  I suggest it to anyone who is working on loosing weight.

Now, on that note, I have been coming up with some low calorie/fat recipes to help me out!

The town where I live is a very ethnically diverse neighborhood, which is fabulous, especially when it comes to food and cooking!  We have some many ethnic grocery stores to choose from, as well as fantastic restaurants.  One of my favorite Middle Eastern food to eat is Kofta Kabab. 

Kofta is usually made with either ground beef or lamb, or a combination of both.  I love mine with a tzatziki sauce which is made with yogurt, mint and cucumber.  I have lightened my version up using ground turkey, and I must say, it is just as good!  You can put the kebabs on skewers when you grill, but it is not necessary.

We like to eat the kebobs on warmed pita bread with the sauce, and some salad greens on top of that with a squirt of lemon juice, delicious!!!

Turkey Kofta Kebabs with Tzatziki Sauce

20 oz 93% lean ground turkey

1 small onion, minced

2 cloves garlic. minced

1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped

2 tbsp bread crumbs

1/4 tsp allspice

1/4 tsp coriander

1/4 tsp paprika

1/4 tsp chili powder

1 tbs. tomato paste

salt and fresh pepper (to taste)

Directions:

In a large bowl combine all ingredients until evenly blended. Divide into a heaping 1/4 cup portions so you get 12; roll into log shaped ovals. Place on a cookie sheet and refrigerate at least 30 minutes. When ready to cook, grill on each side for about 6-8 minutes on each side or until internal temperature reaches 165 degrees.

Tzatziki Sauce

Ingredients:

16 oz. plain nonfat greek yogurt

2 seedless english cucumbers, seeds removed and diced 

2 tsp. olive oil

1/2 lemon juiced

1 tbs. dried mint

1 clove garlic, minced fine

salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Before dicing cucumbers, slice and remove seeds.  Put them in a colander and sprinkle with salt.  Let them sit for about 1/2 hour.  This will allow the liquid to drain from the cucumber.  Lightly rinse and dry with a paper towel and dice.  Mix all ingredients together well.  Refrigerate for at least 1 hour so the flavors can come together.  Spoon over the Kebobs.  The sauce can also be used as a dip for almost anything!