Have you noticed that packages of processed meats have gone from a pound to twelve ounces? Bacon used to always be sold by the pound, but not anymore. Hot dogs have dwindled to eight per pack and buns don't always match the number of weenies anymore. Packaged egg noodles and pasta are sometimes twelve ounces, sometimes a pound. You have to watch if using them with dishes you've cooked in case it affects the finished product. Bags of raw potatoes now have a new price point at eight pounds. Why eight? It makes it more difficult to do price per pound calculations in your head, that's why. Most of the markets I frequent do have unit prices on the goods. But, only on the regular price. When sales hit they don't list a unit price........ever! That the goods packaged in larger sizes do not necessarily reflect a price savings? I buy staple goods like sugar and flour in large packages like twenty five pounds, and noticed that long ago it was often more cost effective to buy several smaller bags. That by changing the name of the product just a little, you may be buying something with added ingredients? Fruit juices become fruit drinks or cocktails. Ice cream becomes frozen dairy desserts. Cheese becomes processed cheese foods. Frozen hamburgers ready for the grill becomes grilling patties. I read the label on five different packs of frozen 'burgers' last week when shopping. Only ONE of them was 100% domestic beef. The rest were beef from numerous sources like Mexico, Canada, Argentina along with domestic beef. Several had added ingredients like soy meal, beef paste, and one of them had crushed beef hearts included. Not that there is anything nasty in those products, but it's a way to make them cheaper to produce and if you don't read a label you may be eating something other than what you think you are. Is it surprising that so many people find it harder to control their weight anymore, especially if they presume the calories in a prepared food are similar to those they'd prepare themselves from scratch?

I got the original recipe here: http://vegan-magic.blogspot.com/2012/06/bean-and-lentil-loaf-low-fat-gluten.html where credit is given to Anne Sheasby's book "High fibre cooking". Here is the version I did tonight, written as for a non-cook as much as possible: Food Processor, scale, large mixing bowl, strainer or slotted spoon, two pots, mixing bowl, measuring cups and spoons, wooden spoon or other cooking spoon, 9" loaf pan (mine is shiny aluminum), prep bowls, cutting board and knife, pastry brush (preferably silicone) Dry Garbanzo beans, about 200 g cooked weight Dry beans (black eyed peas tonight, white or black beans another time), about 200 g cooked weight 400 g cooked weight dried green lentils 1 onion, about the size of a fist, chopped 2 stalks of celery, chopped 1 large or 4 small cloves of garlic, squished and chopped or pressed Oil for sauteing (I use Extra Light Olive Oil) Carrots, about 8 peeled baby or one large 1/2 c. walnut pieces 1/2 c. almond meal 2 TBSP tapioca starch 2 TBSP ground flax seeds 1/2 cup crumbs (better idea than rice) 3-4-ish TBSP Simply Heinz tomato ketchup (if you're picky--any would do), plus more for brushing on later Be generous on the measures with the spices. Not heaping, but a little rondure. :) 1 tsp ground cumin 1 tsp ground coriander 1/2 tsp chili powder 1/2 tsp chipotle powder 1 tsp smoked Spanish paprika 1/2 tsp black pepper, not too fine 1/2 tsp Morton's table salt (I say go for the iodine when cooking because who wants goiter?) 1 very very generous tsp dried basil 1 tsp dried thyme Day before: Rinse and sort beans, well. Put beans in a heavy pot, cover with water, bring briefly to a boil and let cool, then put in fridge overnight. Day of:Pour off some of the bean water until it's only about a third of the way up. Bring to a moving simmer and cook the beans through to tender. Should take about the time it takes for the water to boil off/be absorbed. About 20 minutes. Add back more bean water if needed. Rinse and sort lentils, well. Cook about a cup of lentils to 3-4 cups of water. Bring to a boil and simmer for about 20 minutes until they puff up. Saute onions and celery. When the onions start going transparent, add the garlic. Continue to cook until soft but not carmelized (brown). Put the walnut pieces in the food processor and pulse until small. Add the almond meal and pulse a few more times to mix. Put nut mixture in mixing bowl. Put carrots in food processor and pulse until small but not minced and loosing their water. Add to mixing bowl. Add the crumbs to the mixing bowl. Measure and combine in a prep bowl: seasonings, spices, herbs, flaxseed and tapioca (i.e., the small amounts of dry stuff). Mix well with a fork. Set oven to 350 degrees F. Drain both the beans and lentils. Measure out 400 grams of the lentils and 400 grams of the beans. Put equal portions in the food processor with a portion of the sauteed mixture equal to the proportion of the beans/lentils. That is, if you're putting in a third of the beans and a third of the lentils, use a third of the sauteed vegetables. Turn on the FP and let it run until a paste develops. Scrape down the sides once or twice. It's done when looking from the top (lid off) it seems well blended and doesn't have big pieces of anything showing. About the texture of stiff hummus. Empty into mixing bowl and repeat until done. Mix the contents of the bowl with your wooden spoon until everything is well distributed. Add the ketchup, and mix. Pour the spice mixture all around the bowl so that it's well spread out, and mix bringing the outside edges in, until all the spice mix is well mixed in and distributed. If you think it needs more color, add another squirt of ketchup. Prepare the loaf pan by generously oiling it (or spray oil). Not enough oil for puddles, but so there's lots on the sides and bottom. Don't do this ahead or the oil will all run down. The oil is for making the crust as much as keeping the loaf from sticking. Put the bean mixture in the pan and smooth the top. Try to get the sides not to stick up so they won't burn. Place in the middle of a 350 degree oven on convection/bake if you have it, or else convection or bake. Set the timer for 45 minutes. If the top is at all dry looking, use your pastry brush to cover it with a thin layer of ketchup. Bake a further 10-15 minutes. When it's ready the edges will just be getting dark and will be pulling away from the sides of the pan. Remove from oven and put on a rack. Let it cool and rest for at least 20 minutes. When the pan's edges are cool enough to touch, place your plate over the pan, grab the edges of both and invert. Garnish as you please. A scalloped or serrated knife will probably cut the cleanest, or choose a thin blade. Just don't press down so hard it squishes. Since I wasn't having company, I went for the practical and unmolded my loaf onto the top of a long Ziploc container. That made it easy to just put the container over the loaf for storage in the fridge. Edit: Left off the lentils from the ingredients. This post was edited by plllog on Tue, May 6, 14 at 1:10

Hi Sally, Grainlady has generously shared her knowledge with us, and often mentioned loaf pan sizes. On page 3, there's a thread about Homemade vs Storebought bread. This is an exerpt on one of Grainlady's responses: "A mistake often made, and why the dough doesn't seem to raise as high as you'd like, is from using the wrong amount of dough for the pan size. This is also the cause of over- or under-proofing. As an example: if you make a recipe that makes 1-1/2-pounds of dough (about 3-cups of flour in the recipe) and place it in a 9x5" pan (which are generally designed to be used for loaves of quick breads), that's the wrong pan for that amount of dough - a standard-size loaf pan is a better choice - 8-1/2x4-1/2". Jumbo pan - 10x4-1/2" - approx. 4-5 c. flour - 2+ pounds of dough Quick Bread Pan - 9x5" - 4 c. flour - 2# dough Standard Loaf - 8-1/2x4-1/2" - 3 c. flour - 1-1/2# dough Medium Loaf - 7-1/2x3-1/2" - 2-1/2 c. flour - 1# dough Small Loaf - 5-3/4x3-3/4" - 1-1/2 c. flour - 8 oz. dough"

I've used coconut flour a bit. Many of the coconut flour recipes I've seen use *a lot* of eggs. Not a problem for me but might be for others. The texture of the cupcakes I made was interesting - dense, but light. I need to do more experimenting, but it is a very expensive flour. Here is the *best* and easiest GF Bread recipe I have ever made. You would hardly know it is gluten free. Gluten Free Focaccia Ingredients: ● 1 1/2 tsp dry yeast ● 3/4 cup warm water ● 1 tsp sugar ● 1 cup brown rice flour ● 1/4 cup potato starch ● 1/4 cup tapioca flour ● 1 1/2 tsp xanthan gum ● 1 tsp unflavored gelatin powder ● 1 tsp dried rosemary ● 1/2 tsp gluten-free onion powder ● 3/4 tsp salt ● 2 large eggs ● 2 Tbs olive oil ● 1/2 tsp cider vinegar ● ● Topping ● 1 tsp seasoning (Italian, herb, whatever) ● 1/4 tsp salt ● 1 TBs olive oil Directions: 1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. 2. Dissolve sugar in warm water. Sprinkle yeast into water and stir until dissolved. Set aside to foam, about 5 minutes. 3. Combine flours, xanthan gum, gelatin powder, rosemary, onion powder, and salt in a small mixer bowl. 4. Whisk eggs, olive oil and vinegar into the dissolved yeast and stir the mixture into the flour. 5. Beat dough with mixer for 2 minutes, using a spatula to keep stirring down the dough on the mixer beaters. The dough will be soft and sticky. 6. Transfer dough to an 8 x 8 or 9 x 9 inch non-stick pan coated with cooking spray and cornmeal. (I usually line pan bottom with parchment) 7. Brush top with olive oil, sprinkle with salt, and season as you wish (I use thyme) 8. Cover and let rise in warm place for 40 minutes. 9. Bake for 15 minutes. Yum! Off topic - my fab Candied Ginger Gluten-free cookie. Ingredients: * 1 cup Unsalted Butter, slightly softened * 3/4 cup Brown Sugar * 1/3 cup White Sugar * 2 Eggs * 1 tsp Vanilla * 1 cup Sorghum Flour * 1 cup Brown Rice flour * 1/2 cup Tapioca Starch/Flour * 1/2 cup Potato Starch * 1/2 tsp Baking Soda * 1 tsp Baking Powder * 1 1/2 tsp Xanthan Gum * 1/2 tsp Salt * 3/4 cup Flaked Coconut, unsweetened * 2 - 4 Tbs Coarsely Chopped Candied Ginger (I used 4), plus extra * 1/2 cup Dried Cranberries Directions: Preheat oven to 325F degrees. Mix the flours, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and xanthan gum together with a whisk and set aside. Using an electric mixer beat the butter until soft, and add the sugars, blending well. Add the eggs, one at a time, incorporating each well. Add the vanilla and blend. Add the dry ingredients until just blended Add the coconut, ginger, and cranberries and mix until just blended, about 10 seconds. Spoon a full tablespoon of dough (or use scoop) and press into a 2" circle (about 1/4" thick). Sprinkle additional chopped ginger on top of each cookie, to taste. Bake approximately 17 minutes (top of cookies won't brown much) Let cookies cool on cookie sheet for about 5 minutes before moving to cooling rack. Makes 3 to 4 dozen cookies, depending on size.