These beautiful grain-free Nut Butter Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins (or Seed Butter Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins, if needed), available via The Wayback Machine, are the result of me participating in this month’s Adopt A Gluten-Free Blogger event. Adopt A Gluten-Free Blogger is one of my very favorite gluten-free blogging events/roundups because it is all about bloggers highlighting the best in other bloggers and all of us getting to know each other better.
This event was created by Sea of Book of Yum (unfortunately, this site is no longer active). Sea is on an educational sabbatical to Japan, so others are pinch-hitting for her. This month Sunny of And Love It, Too! is hosting. I haven’t been able to participate for the last few months and this time I just squeaked in under the wire for the sign-up deadline. I was so tickled—and extremely grateful—to see that Sunny had adopted me!
I adopted Brittany of Real Sustenance (not that this blog is no longer active). Brittany and I first met last year at the Gluten-Free and Allergy-Free Expo, but we had been online friends a good while beforehand. I loved her infectious enthusiasm, and of course, her recipes!
I’d say that Brittany is best known for her baking recipes, which almost always generously include numerous options/substitutions for those who have additional food intolerances. She is always trying to create that next “I Can’t Believe It’s Gluten Free” recipe.
Think Gluten-Free Samoas. Think Homemade Twix Bars (Two Ways—Grain Free or Grain Full). Think Mozzarella Sticks. You get the idea. So the gluten-free community was thrilled when she and Iris of The Daily Dietribe banded together to write The Essential Gluten-Free Baking Guide, Part 1 and Part 2.
These Triumph Dining publications of theirs have received nothing but rave reviews. Personally, I have not yet reviewed these cookbooks, but some of my gluten-free blogging friends have and raved right along with everyone else.
Honestly, it’s rare for me to see a recipe of Brittany’s that I don’t want to make immediately. She and Iris experimented day in and day out with a multitude of flours and starches to create The Essential Gluten-Free Baking Guide. It was a mix of white rice flour, garbanzo bean flour, and potato starch that she used to create the amazing Cinnamon Chocolate Babka Bread for my Home for the Holidays—Gluten Free Style event.
Lately, my interests have gone more to making grain-free recipes, but that’s not a problem because Brittany and Iris addressed grain-free flours and starches in their book, and Brittany currently focuses on grain-free recipes.
photo courtesy of Real Sustenance (Home for the Holidays–Gluten-Free Style)
Specifically, I’ve been eyeing Brittany’s chestnut flour recipes for a while. I’ve done some minimal experimenting with chestnut flour, but have not had great luck, so I wanted to take advantage of all of Brittany’s expertise with this flour. I decided to make her Nut Butter Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins.
I thought that I had just enough almond butter, but the actual amount that I had (left over from my apple with almond butter breakfasts) fell about a tablespoon short of the ½ cup required. So I substituted mashed avocado and it worked beautifully!
The resulting muffins are truly exceptional. They are rich and satisfying. The texture is truly better than that of any grain muffin. Son, Son’s friend, and I all loved them!
That was the only recipe I got to try this time around, but I plan to make Brittany’s latest recipe this weekend—Grain-Free, Thick Crust Pizza! I can’t wait for Son and me to give this one the taste test. Even before this recipe, Brittany has been known for her pizza. It was her Gluten Free/Vegan Chicago Style Deep Dish Pizza that she demonstrated at the Expo in Chicago last year.
Pizza is a food that gluten-free folks crave and Brittany made sure that her pizza recipe was also perfectly apropos for the locale. Needless to say, it was very well received!
UPDATE: I made Brittany’s Grain-Free, Thick Crust Pizza; it’s a winner! I was able to make a 9-inch pizza (versus the 8-inch one she recommends) and it was still plenty thick. I might try a 10-inch version next time. I snapped some quick, decidedly non-award winning photos before we ate this pizza for lunch, but you can at least get a sense of how tasty and attractive this pizza is.
Incidentally, one surprising bonus of this pizza is how filling it is—one piece was more than enough for me. This pizza can feed all three of us; which makes it even more of a winner in my book! Note that my pizza looks a bit different than a traditional pizza as there’s no cheese. The sauce is a mixture of pizza sauce and Creamy Basil Majestic Garlic Spread. You’ll want to top yours with your favorite toppings as always.
Check out Brittany over at Real Sustenance if you aren’t already a fan!
Originally published August 3, 2012; updated December 17, 2024.
Ina Gawne says
Shirley – those are some mighty fine looking muffins! I have never seen chestnut flour in the stores – I must keep a look out!
Shirley says
Ina–It’s easy to order chestnut flour online. I’ve never seen it in stores either, but I don’t frequent specialty shops. But here’s a laugh for you … I have two muffins left and I put them in the fridge. Then I loaded it up with veggies from the farmer’s market. Now I can’t find them! LOL Guess I have to eat all the veggies first. 😉
Shirley
Sharon says
Hi Shirley. You can find Chestnut flour at nuts.com along with a great selection of other gluten free flours. I love their procucts and use them all the time.
Sharon
Shirley says
Hi Sharon–Welcome! 🙂 That’s where my chestnut flour came from. I love nuts.com nut flours. Thanks for sharing your review!
Shirley
Melissa @ glutenfreeforgood says
Just left a comment at Brittany’s blog and thought I’d comment here as well. I used to use chestnut flour, but haven’t for years. Thanks for the reminder! I like chestnut flour. It has a delicate, slightly sweet taste to me and I love the light, creamy color and texture. Just wanted to mention that it’s awesome in pancakes, too, but just use 20 or 25% of the total flour blend. It’s lower in fat than most other nut flours.
Melissa
Shirley says
Melissa–I was actually surprised at the color of chestnut flour, but really shouldn’t have been considering chestnuts themselves. Thanks for the tip on using chestnut flour in pancakes. How *interesting* (hehe) that you should know that. 😉 I had no idea on the fat content. Btw, I think Brittany has a chestnut flour pancakes recipe, too. I appreciate all the info and look forward to using chestnut flour some more for sure. 🙂
Shirley
Brittany@ Real Sustenance says
Wow Shirley. Wow, Wow. I am stunned and so thankful for this incredibly kind post. Thank you from the bottom of my heart!
xoxoxoxo
Shirley says
Hey Brittany–You are very welcome, dear! I’m so glad that you enjoyed my adoption so much. 🙂 I’m really glad that I got to make the pizza and add that review, too. Both recipes are wonderful!! I really can’t believe how filling this pizza is. 😉
Thanks for all the truly fantastic recipes! xoxo,
Shirley
Shannon Brown says
The muffins sound great. My problem in visiting her site is that I want to try too many things. 🙂
I also liked your trick of adding avocado to fill in the missing nut butter. I’ll remember that.
Thank you for the mention of last month’s adoptions!
Shirley says
Haha, Shannon … I totally get that!! We have to restrain ourselves somehow, right? 😉 Sometimes abstinence is best!
Avocado is one of those magical ingredients. I’ve been playing with it a few different ways. The good fat that it contains and its inherent creaminess really make avocado an interesting “player.”
You did a great job last month, so I was happy to share your roundup! Just wish I could have participated.
Shirley
Sophie says
I love Brittany’s blog too, .. a lot!
Her recipes, just like yours, never fail me! Never! 🙂 A lovely ode to her & her cool blog!
Shirley says
Hi Sophie–Thanks so much for sharing your own stellar review of Brittany’s blog and recipes! And that’s so sweet of you to include me and my recipes in those super nice words, too. 🙂
Shirley
Heather @Gluten-Free Cat says
Lovely adoption post, Shirley! I’m a huge Brittany fan too. Not just her blog and amazing recipes, but her spirit. It was really fun to hang out at the expo. I’m so glad you posted your update, because that pizza crust looks unreal! And what a great idea to use Majestic in the sauce. I bet that was just mouthwateringly good!
Shirley says
Hi Heather–Yes, I tried to capture a bit of Brittany’s spirit with my comment on her “infectious enthusiasm.” We saw that at the Expo and, yes, it was tons of fun for hanging out and getting to play. 😉 Majestic is making its way into so many of many recipes and dishes where I want that creamy, “cheesy” factor. 🙂 Brittany’s pizza crust is definitely one you’ll want to try!
Shirley
Caralyn @ glutenfreehappytummy says
what a great post! that thick pizza crust looks incredible! YUMMMM!
Shirley says
Hey Caralyn–Thanks! This pizza crust is really wonderful. Does it work for your diet?
Shirley
Maggie says
Shirley, I love Brittany’s honesty too! She’s real and I admire that about her. What you see is what you get 🙂 And her recipes are always amazing. She’s so passionate about what she does. I have many Brittany recipes on my must-make list! I’m off to check out this pizza crust!
Shirley says
Hey Maggie–Yes, Brittany is WYSIWYG (whizzy wig–love that!), yes! 😉 I’d like to know how this recipe works out when made egg free.
xo,
Shirley