The captain of Team Vargas used to be an overweight bench-warmer. That was a scant few years and 95 pounds ago, when chef Ryan Vargas would sit on the sidelines to watch his three kids at jiu jitsu and judo practice.

But Vargas is a soulful guy open to a great range of inspirations, not the least of which was a plea from daughter Lilinoe and sons Lakea and Rocco, nudging him to join them in jiu jitsu. “Daddy, you should try it!” they clamored.

With wife Rhonda already on the family fitness train, the Hawaiian-born chef known for his mingling of global flavors at Wellington’s Pangea Bistro gave the martial arts thing a whirl. That decision would transform his tight knit suburban family into the energy-burning, super foods-consuming, champion-studded force that is Team Vargas.

“The kids inspired us,” says Rhonda Vargas, who dropped 40 pounds kickboxing and practicing jiu jitsu.

The chef, a Culinary Institute of America alum and former Four Seasons resorts chef, cuts a lean profile these days and fuels up with raw maca powder (an Incan super food), Omega-3-rich chia seeds, fiber-packed shelled hemp seeds, juicing fruit, pungent baby greens and soul-soothing coconut milk.

The guy who grew up on Spam and eggs and who confesses a weakness for Krispy Kreme doughnuts now finds decadence in a sprinkling of raw cacao nibs and tart, chewy goji berries. And he lives for the amber-toned raw honey harvested by one of his kids’ martial arts coaches.

The payoff: great family quality time.

“We’re all in it together,” says Vargas, who moved his family to Palm Beach County from Hawaii seven years ago. “When Lakea has to make weight for competition, the whole family has to be supportive with our diet.”

The family’s hard work on the mats has paid off. Sons Lakea, 14, and Rocco, 8, won top prizes in their age and weight divisions for Brazilian jiu jitsu and judo, daughter Lilinoe has found her girl power, and Mom and Dad have shed their bench-warming ways.

The new energy has inspired terrific days at the beach, where the chef introduced his kids to one of his favorite childhood pastimes: kite flying.

“When I was a kid we used to have kite battles on the beach,” says the chef.

This is how Team Vargas plans to celebrate Father’s Day, on the beach. After breakfast, of course.

For Chef Vargas, that morning feast might include fluffy pancakes made of quinoa and coconut flour, or open-face sliced banana sandwiches, or even homemade “ice cream” churned out by the family’s new favorite gadget, a frozen dessert maker called Yonanas. It takes over-ripe, frozen bananas and turns them into soft-serve ice “cream.”

When the ice cream-loving kids ask for the real deal, Vargas adds coconut milk to the frozen banana mix for a creamier result. “We’ve been experimenting with it like crazy,” he says.

Ditto for the juices he makes. He’ll extract the juices of fruits and leafy greens, then add his magic, be it a sprinkling of raw cacao nibs or especially fragrant herbs.

“The kids look at him and see the ultimate chef,” says Rhonda, who has been married to Ryan, her high school sweetheart, for 14 years. She was from a rural corner of O’ahu and he was a city boy, a friend of her best friend’s boyfriend. They dated for 10 years before getting married.

Ask her to describe her favorite image of the chef as a father, and her mind travels to the family’s kitchen. “It’s endearing to watch how he caters to them, because he loves them so much. He always tries to make everything delicious for them.”

The doting dad inherited his love of cooking from his own father, Romulo Vargas, a U.S. Navy chef who cooked for the commander in chief of the U.S. Pacific fleet. “He’s the reason I’m cooking today,” says Vargas.

As the cycle of food and family goes, Vargas loves to include his kids in his home cooking projects, be it a veggie-laden fattoush flatbread or a banana-mango-berry ice cream. Or whatever’s dancing in his super foods-boosted imagination at the time. Something inspired, to be sure.

FOR A TASTE of Chef Ryan Vargas’ cooking, visit Pangea Bistro at 10140 Forest Hill Blvd., Wellington; (561) 793-9394; PangeaBistro.net

BREAKFAST OF CHAMPIONS

Chef Vargas’ wife, Rhonda, dreamed up this simple, energy-boosting meal for the family. The chef, who does the family’s cooking, added his own flair to the recipe.

BANANA TOAST

2 slices sprouted grain bread (such as Ezekiel 4:9)

1 tablespoon almond butter

1 banana, cut into thin slices

Raw honey, to drizzle

1 teaspoon chia seeds

1 teaspoon cocoa nibs

Cinnamon, to sprinkle

Lightly toast bread. Using a large round cookie cutter or mold, cut bread slices into rounds. Spread almond butter on each slice of bread.

Arrange half of the banana slices in a circular pattern atop 1 slice of bread and repeat on second slice.

Drizzle honey over banana slices. Sprinkle chia seeds, cocoa nibs and, finally, cinnamon over bananas.

JUICE IT UP!

Team Vargas loves its juices, particularly the funky combos Dad throws together. On a recent day, he whirred together a refreshing watermelon with acai for a sweet/tart drink. He also juiced pineapple with orange and ginger for a juice that was both cool (with the bright orange and pineapple flavors) and warming (with the heat of ginger). And he whipped up a coconut milk and honey dew smoothie.

Vargas poured the leftover juice into popsicle molds — with some added treats — and froze them for snacks.

He tossed a few pumpkin seeds into the pineapple-orange juice and a few goji berries into the honeydew-coconut milk mix.