Master of the Kitchen Tackles Sports Nutrition

Feature by Jenny Wilson, Swimming World intern

EVANSTON, Illinois, February 23. SUCCESS never tasted so sweet. Masters swimmer Marisa Churchill recently completed her first cookbook, Sweet & Skinny: 100 Recipes for Enjoying Life's Sweeter Side Without Tipping the Scale. Churchill, who brought her recipes to practice and used swimmers as taste-testers, has been cooking for as long as she can remember but came to swimming later in life. When she injured herself in a car accident as an adult, her doctor suggested swimming as a form of physical therapy. Eight years later, Churchill still loves the water.

A Masters national qualifier in the 100-yard breaststroke, swimming gives Churchill, who has competed on Top Chef and various Food Network Challenges, an edge in the kitchen.

"I have an advantage over other chefs who aren't used to being under the gun and dealing with pressure," she said, explaining that pushing her body through the pain of a practice and dealing with the pressure of standing behind the blocks has given her energy in a fast-paced kitchen environment. "I've seen other chefs crash and freak out, but I'm more physically fit than they are. We all have stresses, but when you [compete in] a sport like swimming you can manage it better."

Through swimming, Churchill has managed to stand out in her field of expertise.

"People are surprised when they see a skinny, fit pastry chef," she said.

Churchill explains that swimming both removes the stress of her daily work but also allows her to stay fit.

"It's a great way to balance stress in my work," she said. "Working in a restaurant is really stressful and some of my co-workers tend to smoke or drink to relax."

Swimming also allowed Churchill to find the healthy-eating niche she built her cookbook on.

Sports Nutritionist Nancy Clark, author of Nancy Clark's Sports Nutrition Guidebook, believes that healthy eating is key to successful swimming, saying that, "performance starts in the stomach."

Allison Wagner, a silver-medalist at the 1996 Olympics, emphasizes the importance of sports nutrition. When Wagner competed, she was particularly mindful of what she put into her body.

"I tried to keep my diet especially clean right up to my performance," she said.

Wagner serves as one of Churchill's primary taste-testers.

"She wanted to get people that were sensitive to taste, but also to nutrition, to try her recipes and that's what I did," she said.

Churchill says that Wagner, who started teaching her swim lessons several years ago, came to her when she was training to go back to the Olympics and asked for a cake without sugar. Since then, Churchill has experimented with various sugar substitutes, which she believes helps her performance.

"Nutritionists may say otherwise, but for me what seems to help is cutting out sugar about a week before a meet," Churchill said. She uses Stevia or Truvia, all-natural herbal sweeteners in order to avoid sugar. Wagner agrees that all-natural sugar substitutes—she uses Stevia and agave, "still satisfy your sweet tooth but don't feel as bad."

Her favorite recipe is Churchill's peanut butter banana creme pie, included at the bottom of this article, which can be prepared sugar-free.

Churchill correctly states that her fixation on the dangers of sugar differs from that of most nutritionists. For instance, while Wagner and Churchill prefer to alter recipes, Felicia Stoler, nutritionist and exercise physiologist, believes that the answer to maximizing performance without depriving yourself lies in moderation rather than substitution.

"If you have a little of what you want, it's not going to throw you over the edge and hinder your performance," Stoler said. "Food is meant to be pleasurable and enjoyable."

She says that non-caloric sweeteners like Splenda and Sweet ‘N' Low are, "the most highly processed things you could put into your body."

Many view Stevia as a healthy alternative to sugar and a less-processed alternative to the chemical sweeteners, but Stoler explains that Stevia comes in two forms. The fluid form, which looks like agave nectar, provides a healthy sweetener option. But, "the stuff that looks like sugar is very processed," she says.

Clark agrees that there is, "no real need to cut out sugar specifically," explaining that all carbohydrates consumed digest into glucose anyway. She does, however, say that in order to avoid the "sugar addiction" that Wagner and Churchill describe, athletes should fuel better during the day.

"People crave sweets when they get too hungry," Clark said. "A sweet tooth is the symptom and the problem is they haven't eaten a big enough breakfast or lunch. "

Stoler recommends that swimmers truly wanting to improve their performance nutrition should make an appointment with a sports dietician and get their own individualized plan.

"It's the best investment in their health and performance," Stoler said.

In devising strategies that make them feel the best, swimmers like Churchill can structure a diet that supports their own personal taste.

Jennifer Wilson is a Swimming World intern who currently competes as a junior at Northwestern. She is a breaststroke specialist who is majoring in journalism.

Peanut Butter-Banana Cream Pie Recipe
Serves 12
Per serving: 290 calories, 13.5 grams fat
Per serving (sugar-free): 260 calories, 13.5 grams fat

Peanut butter and bananas are a perennial favorite combination so this pie is always a huge hit. I've made the filling extra creamy by blending whipped fat-free evaporated milk with peanut butter and reduced-fat cream cheese. This is much better than simply spreading peanut butter on a banana!

One 9 x 2-inch store bought crust (follow package insturctions for baking)
1/2 cup fat-free evaporated milk
1 teaspoon unflavored gelatin powder
8 ounces (1 cup) reduced-fat cream cheese (Neufchatel), softened
1/2 cup reduced-fat peanut butter, smooth or chunky, preferably natural style (made from peanuts and possibly salt, only)
1/2 cup sugar or 18 packets Truvia (for sugar-free)
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup unsweetened shredded coconut, toasted (optional)
2 ripe large bananas, cut into 1/4-inch-thick slices
2 tablespoons roasted, salted peanuts

Pour one-quarter cup of the evaporated milk into a small saucepan. Whisk in the gelatin and let it stand for 3 minutes to soften. Cook over medium heat, stirring, until the milk is hot and the gelatin has dissolved completely, about 3 minutes. Do not allow to boil.

Transfer the hot milk to a small bowl and stir in the remaining one-quarter cup of evaporated milk. Freeze for about 10 minutes, just until the edges of the milk begin to set.

While the milk chills, mix the cream cheese and peanut butter with an electric mixer on medium for about 1 minute, until the mixture is well blended. Add the sugar and salt and beat for 1 minute longer. Set aside.

Using an electric mixer, beat the chilled milk on high for 4 to 5 minutes, until it resembles whipped cream. Add the peanut butter mixture on medium for 1 minute. Stir in half of the toasted coconut, if using.

Spoon about one-third of the peanut butter mixture into the baked crust, smoothing with a spatula to completely cover the bottom. Distribute the banana slices evenly over the filling. Spread the remaining filling evenly over the bananas. Sprinkle the peanuts evenly over the top, as well as the remaining toasted coconut, if using. Cover the pie with plastic film and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.

Use a sharp knife to cut the pie into 12 wedges. Refrigerate any leftover pie, tightly covered, for up to 3 days.

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