Who has time for sit-down meals anymore? In a time of frenetic lifestyles, a meal these days must pass the litmus test of portability. And with Americans increasingly chowing down on their way to work, school and play who has time for such time-honored traditions as tableware and plates? It's a concept that Breakstone Foods of Columbus, Ohio took to comic extremes with the debut of IncrEdibles--a frozen line of microwavable pastas and scrambled egg combos sold in "push-up" style pops. Marketers fired off tongue-in-cheek "protest letters" on American Utensils & Plates Manufacturer's Assoc. letterhead urging a boycott. "This is preposterous. An outrage...People have been eating pasta for over 3,000 years while seated at a table (or a stone) using a plate, fork and spoon," wrote Ivan M. Nyephenfark, the group's president. Robert Berman, Breakaway Foods president and IncrEdibles inventor, who was inspired by his daughter's playful twists with spaghetti and a breadstick, said sales are already brisk. Berman expect s the line to hit vending channels next year. "This is the biggest new food innovation since TV dinners."
