Last week, I was honored to attend the first ever Eat and Greet event for bloggers at the General Mills headquarters in Minneapolis. As you can see, I met the Pillsbury dougboy (dare I ask who has the cuter belly?!?), and some other fabulous people as well! On Wednesday night, we toured the Mill City Museum and enjoyed a lovely meal getting to know each other.
On Thursday, we were invited to the headquarters for a product fair and tour of their photography studios…as well as breakfast and lunch…this was after all the “eat and greet!” I’d love to share a little of the experience with you!!!
Some of their product lines from past to present!
“America’s Most Trusted Kitchens”…THE Betty Crocker Test Kitchen
A view of part of the Betty Crocker Test Kitchens from above.
And the BC Test Kitchens keep going…here is the product fair, where we learned about some of their latest and greatest product lines…from Fiber One Pancake Mix (the original kind is dairy free!!!) to the latest Honey Kix cereal to the not yet released Yoplait Smoothies!
The complete line of Cascadian Farm organic products! Don’t forget to get your coupons!
The new Honey Kix cereal…which I might add doesn’t have additives, preservatives, or high fructose corn syrup (HFCS)!!! On the whole, I learned that GM is moving away from using additives, preservatives and HFCS. I kid you not…I walked from product table to product table checking labels. And I was quite impressed with some of the changes they are making! Find a $.75 coupon here!
This perhaps being my favorite change. I heard about these cookies during dinner on Wednesday night. They are made only using ingredients that you would use if you were making them at home…flour, soda, salt, butter, eggs, sugar, chocolate chips. Still skeptical, I immediately looked at the packaging…and sure enough! No HFCS, no additive or perservatives. And they tasted great, of course! Find a $.55 coupon here!
And the latest product, that has yet to hit grocery store shelves, is the Yoplait Smoothie. Each package comes with 2 smoothie packets. Just dump into the blender and blend. Simple as that. The little white pieces you see in the bowl and frozen yogurt bits! These are due to hit store shelves on September 15th…and don’t worry…I’ve got the scoop on the coupons for this great new product and I’ll let you know when and where you can find them!
I’ll share about the photography studio and a few nuggets of gold that I learned about food photography tomorrow!
Disclosure: This Eat and Greet trip was paid for by General Mills.
{ 8 comments… read them below or add one }
This was really great. Even though the trip was paid for by GM, I know you wouldn’t steer us wrong. As for the cutest stomach it has to be you. I forgot you were even pregnant, you look great. Keep up the good work!!!!!!!!!!!!
Thanks Rhonda! And you can rest assured I won’t steer anyone awry!
Just in case you can’t wait… the frozen smoothie mix with yogurt chips is available in club stores like Costco or Sams. It is great! Can’t wait for your coupon tip.
Oh such fun…how great they are reaching out to bloggers.
While I’m not a “health nut”, it is great to see that GM is moving away from all the addatives. Now that I’m going to be a Mommy, I’m paying more attention to what I’m putting in my mouth, and you bet I’ll be paying attention to what goes in the mouth of my child!
This part of the trip was really great. It was so informative. I have purchased several of the brands we got to try since I’ve been home!
what a fun trip! I grew up in Mpls and have lots of friends who work for General Mills, but have never been inside. I’m excited for their new products, and as someone who has food allergies, I appreciate their labeling
How awesome! I live here in the Twin Cities and driven by their headquarters a zillion times. I used to take care of an elderly women who during her young years she was a test cook for Betty Crocker. She had some great stories and recipes! Thanks for sharing this – especially about their new changes. I may have to try their new cookie dough!