Burger King Introduces SATISFRIES™ Reduced Fat, Reduced Calorie French Fries

Image courtesy of Burger KingYesterday, Burger King introduced a new french fry called SATISFRIES™ that have "40% less fat and 30% fewer calories than the leading French fries." Although I'm not a big fast food consumer, this caught my attention!

What do they consider "the leading French fry?" That would be McDonald's. I found that to be slightly odd that they are using the competition as the reference point rather than their own fries. But that's ok. I'll go with it.

Burger King claims that 70 grams of SATISFRIES™ has 6.3 grams of fat as compared to 11.2 grams of fat in 70 grams of McDonald's fries. Similarly, there are 150.5 calories in 70 grams of SATISFRIES™ as compared to 226.8 calories in 70 grams of McDonald's fries.

How do they do it make a French fry with less fat? According to Burger King,"Just like most French fry recipes, SATISFRIES™ are made with thinly battered real whole potatoes. The difference is that the SATISFRIES™ recipe ensures that the French fries absorb less oil – only enough to keep each great tasting crinkle crispy on the outside and fluffy on the inside." Basically a new batter that keeps more oil from saturating inside the fry. Interesting concept.

Burger King is asking folks to post their own S pictures on Instagram, some of which are shown at www.bk.com/en/us/satisfries.html.

How do SATISFRIES™ compare to Burger King's own French fries? A small order of SATISFRIES™ is 270 calories, 70 calories, or about 20% less calories than in its standard fries. A small order of SATISFRIES™ has 11 grams of fat as compared to 15 grams in its standard fries, or about 27% less fat.

So let's see how this adds up. If God forbid you normally eat one small order of Burger King French fries each week, with the exception of say Christmas week and Thankgiving week, and decide to switch to the new SATISFRIES™, over the course of a year you would eat 3,500 less calories. According to www.howmanycaloriesinapound.com, there are 3,500 calories in one pound. So switching to SATISFRIES™ equals 1 less pound of body weight in a year. If you're looking to lose weight, perhaps a better approach would be to swap out your fries for the apple slices that Burger King offers up.

Visit www.bk.com for more information.

New LEGO Store is Now Open at the Westfield Topanga Mall in Canoga Park

Please, don't tell my kids that there's a new LEGO Store at the Westfield Topanga Mall in Canoga Park! I've lost track but I believe my house contains a college education's worth of LEGOs!

Yes, for several weeks now, the newest and now closest LEGO Store to Ventura County has been open. It is located on the first floor of the Topanga Mall near Target and across from the Baby Gap store. Store hours are 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday to Saturday and 11 a.m. to 7 p.m on Sunday. Call 818.884.8597 or visit stores.lego.com/en-us/stores/us/topanga for more information. The mall is located at 6800 Topanga Canyon Road.

Previously, the closest LEGO Store to us here in the Conejo Valley / Greater Ventura County area was at the Glendale Galleria. My kids have an insatiable appetite for LEGO sets and nearly every room in the house shows signs of LEGOS.

Roughly 1% of the LEGOs in my house.

But wait...you can celebrate the grand opening of the LEGO Store at Westfield Topanga on September 27-29, 2013 with a huge LEGO Master Build event!

Join in and help a real LEGO® Master Builder construct an 8-foot tall model of Yoda™ completely out of LEGO bricks! You'll receive a free Certificate of Achievement for participating! This event will take place on Friday, the 27th from 11am-7pm, Saturday from 10am-6pm and Sunday from 11am-7pm.

Be one of the first 300 people each day to make a qualifying purchase at the LEGO Store and you will receive one of the following giveaways:

• Friday, September 27: Free Collectible LEGO T-Shirt with a $50 Purchase!*
• Saturday, September 28: Free Limited-Edition LEGO Store Set with a $75 Purchase!
• Sunday, September 29: Free Exclusive LEGO Minifigure Set with a $50 Purchase!

Offers valid while supplies last only. *T-shirts are available in child sizes only.

Interesting and Amazing Facts and Tidbits About LEGO® Blocks

Evolution of Bench at Upper Sycamore Canyon Overlook at Rancho Sierra Vista

The Springs Fire started the morning of May 2nd along the 101 freeway on the Conejo Grade and burned over 28,000 acres through portions of Camarillo, Newbury Park and the Santa Monica Mountains Recreational Aea until it was fully contained the following week.

Rancho Sierra Vista/Satwiwa and other trails in Pt Mugu State Park were re-opened in mid to late May. It will take time for the vegetation to grow back and for structures that were burned to be rebuilt. One such structure is the bench overlooking Upper Sycamore Canyon. The bench was burnt severely and was rendered unusable. However, lo and behold, the bench has been replaced! Happy trails!

The healthy, new bench overlooking Upper Sycamore Canyon in September 2013

Bench overlooking Upper Sycamore Canyon in August of 2013.

The not-so-healthy looking bench overlooking Upper Sycamore Canyon after the fire.View from the new and improved bench at Upper Sycamore Canyon Overlook in Sept 2013

Bench at Upper Sycamore Canyon Overlook on May 14, 2013Bench at Upper Sycamore Canyon Overlook prior to Springs Fire on February 10, 2013

All sorts of benches in and around the Conejo Valley

Footage of the 2013 Ride to the Flags in Newbury Park Today, September 14th

Since 1998, the annual Ride to the Flags event has taken hundreds of motorcyclists on a well organized ride to the Pepperdine University 9/11 Waves of Flags Memorial Display.  This is a charity event that raises funds and donates to persons and organizations affected by the tragedy of 9/11.

Between soccer games and errands, I was able to catch the 2013 Ride to the Flags the well organized calvacade at the corner of Lynn and Reino Roads in Newbury Park on its way to Potrero Road. Quite an impressive, patriotic sight!  For more information about the event and to make donations, visit www.ridetotheflags.com.

And speaking of the Pepperdine University 9/11 flag display, if you haven't seen it, you have to! It is on display this year until September 23rd.

Photos of the Pepperdine University 9/11 Waves of Flags Display From Scott Harrison

For the sixth year in a row, Pepperdine University has staged a dramatic display of flags on its expansive lawn at Alumni Park, Malibu, to honor the victims of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. Each flag, reflecting each victim's nationality, represents each of the nearly 3,000 lives lost on that tragic day.

Photo Credit: Scott Harrison www.harrysonpics.comThe installation of the flags, which will be on display until Monday, Sept. 23, was conceived and led by the University's chapter of the College Republicans in 2008. Since that time, the display has come to be a focal point in the Malibu community to gather in remembrance and meditation of the innocent lives lost on 9/11, including Tom Burnett, alumnus of the Graziadio School of Business and Management.

Burnett's heroism as a passenger on United Airlines Flight 93 has been well documented. As a result of the passengers' attempt to take control of the hijacked airliner and divert it from reaching the terrorists' target, United 93 crashed in a field in Pennsylvania rather than striking a building or landmark in the nation's capital, causing more loss of human life.

As it has annually since September 2001, the Office of the Chaplain, the Department of Public Safety (DPS), and the Office of the President will host a brief memorial service at 12:15 p.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 11, at the Heroes Garden, a 14,880-square-foot outdoor sanctuary that overlooks the Pacific Ocean on one of the highest bluffs on the Malibu campus. The garden serves as a public space to pause, reflect, and honor those who sacrificed their lives on 9/11, including Burnett.

Source: Pepperdine University

Local photographer Scott Harrison has once again provided some great photos of the Pepperdine display below. See more of Scott's work at www.harrysonpics.com.

Tesco Announces Sale of Fresh & Easy Stores to Yucaipa Today

After signaling it was looking at "strategic options" for its money-losing Fresh & Easy Neighborhood Market chain early this year, Tesco today announced that it is selling a substantial part of its Fresh & Easy operations, including its Riverside distribution and production facilities, to private equity holding company, Yucaipa Companies LLC.

Tesco indicated the sale is expected to be completed within three months. Yucaipa is purchasing over 150 of Fresh & Easy's 200 stores and is anticipated to retain over 4,000 employees. Currently Fresh & Easy employs over 5,000 people, including 1,300 at its Riverside facility.

On a positive note, this means that they are retaining over 75% of the stores...on a negative note, 25% Fresh & Easy's stores will be closed and 20% of its labor base will be on the job market soon.

WHICH STORES!!?? Yes, this is what everyone wants to know right now, as evidenced on Fresh & Easy's Facebook page at www.facebook.com/freshandeasy. Tesco and Fresh & Easy have not announced which stores will be closed yet but indicated that "those stores not included in the transaction wil be closed over the coming weeks."

So stay tuned, Fresh & Easy fans. There are 10 Fresh & Easy stores in Ventura County and directly adjacent areas.

Yucaipa has quite a track record in the grocery store chain arena, having acquired and/or sold Food 4 Less, Boys Markets, Alpha Beta, Smitty's, Ralphs and Dominick's grocery store chains in the past.

Pepperdine University's Annual Waves of Flags Display in Honor of 9/11 Victims

Once again this year (2013), Pepperdine University students and other volunteers staged a display of nearly 3,000 flags in honor of each of the victims of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. The display was at Alumni Park, at the corner of Pacific Coast Highway and Malibu Canyon Road. Each victim is memorialized with a flag reflecting their nationality.

Whether you visit at night or during the day, this tremendous display is a sobering reminder of one of our country's darkest days.