More Fiber One

By AL SICHERMAN, Star Tribune

Last update: November 4, 2009 - 12:42 PM

More Fiber One

Mr. Tidbit was out of town for a few days recently and, as is his custom, browsed the aisles of a few grocery stores for products he hasn't yet seen at home. Particularly, as always, he checked to see whether there were any new Fiber One products from General Mills, as he prefers getting his fiber from things like pancake mix and toaster pastries instead of barley, peas, beans and broccoli.

Besides the pancake mix and toaster pastries, Mr. Tidbit was, of course, already aware of the several kinds of Fiber One cereal, chewy bars, muffin mix and yogurt -- although he realizes now that he hasn't noticed the yogurt recently.

To his everlasting delight he discovered that, at least in northern Illinois, there are ready-baked Fiber One muffins, in three flavors. As always, he doesn't know whether these are new items that simply haven't yet been rolled out here, test-market products that may never show up here, things that are available here but simply not at the several stores he frequents, or what.

Anyway, discovering the new muffins finally prompted him, upon his return, to check the General Mills website to see if there are more Fiber One items in store. With the caveat that commercial websites are frequently not up-to-date, it appears that somewhere there also are, will be or were Fiber One frozen muffins and Fiber One Fulfill nutrition bars.

Pop Secret revealed

While he was there, Mr. Tidbit decided to see if the General Mills website indicated why he was seeing fewer kinds of Pop Secret microwave popcorn. Pop Secret wasn't listed! Checking a recent box reveals that Pop Secret is no longer a General Mills product. It's now made by California's Diamond Foods (the walnut folks, who surely don't have General Mills' supermarket shelf-space clout). If you can't talk your store manager into stocking your favorite kind, Diamond Foods sells all Pop Secret varieties online at Amazon.com.

AL SICHERMAN