my story

Hello there!  My name is Gino, and welcome to my blog, Peanut Butter on Everything!   This is my lil’ hub, where I share healthy, delicious, high protein recipes for peanut butter lovers using all-natural ingredients!

I’ll also share with you anything surrounding health and nutrition that I have come across and used myself that have helped me transform my physique and improved the quality of my life.

I was born and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area and recently moved to sunny Southern California back in 2010.   I am a Filipino American, born here in the U.S., and I was raised here under Filipino traditions, culture, and cuisines.   My favorite Filipino staples growing up (and still are today) were chicken adobo, kare-kare, beef sinigang, chicken tinola, sinangag (filipino garlic fried rice),  torta, and of course, lumpia.

From regularly eating raw hot dogs, spam, and rice as a little kid (yes i said RAW), to eating at random fast food burger joints during my college years, to having a  peanut butter chicken egg white omelette and an ultimate acai blueberry peanut butter protein smoothie every morning as an full grown adult today, I’ve come a long way in my eating habits and food choices.

From being a chubby fast food junkie….

…to thinking I had muscle….

…to actually having muscle:

 

Back in the good ol’ days of the early 2000s, and just like any other average college student who turns 21, I consumed a lot of alcohol—-mostly the hard stuff too, like whiskeys, vodkas, and rums.

I’d say me and my friends would go out like 3-5 days a week— hangin’ at a local house party, or go club/bar hopping, and then of course, afterwards, eat the greasiest, fattiest, most unhealthiest things our drunken minds could find at the late night diner or the 24 hour fast food drive thru.

Alcohol and junk food 5 times a week??!!  Not a good combination.

This destructive lifestyle lasted a good 8-10 years I would say. It was nonstop throughout my entire 20s.  No regrets about this, however.  ZERO. It was the funnest time of my life, bar none.  I made a lot of friends, I had a lot of fun, I travelled a lot—I mean, as a young dude, in my ’20s, I had to enjoy my college years, right?

But here’s the kicker, despite this near-decade nonstop party-palooza, working a 40 hour/week job, AND going to college taking full time units, I still managed to get and maintain a lean, muscular physique with six pack abs throughout the majority of the time.

As long as I consistently worked out hard at the gym 3 days a week for 1 1/2-2 hours, ate 5-6 meals evenly spread out throughout the day, and as long as I consumed 30 grams of protein during every meal, my mind and body were on point.  I could go full throttle, even on about 4 hours of sleep.

My commitment to this lifestyle was unrelenting.  Even after a long day of studying, working, and partying, I was up early Sunday morning to go to church and then the gym right after.

Health and fitness was, and is, very important to me.  I ALWAYS made it a top priority.

So, what switch did I flick in my mind that triggered me to want to transform my phsyique and maintain it?

Back in 2004, me and my good friends planned a Hawaii trip for the summer.  This was going to be my first big trip with the boys outside of the mainland U.S., and I wanted it to be grand and memorable.  I knew that we would be spending the majority of our time there on the beach, and of course, I wanted to look good for all the beautiful women out there!

Being in my early ’20s, and with all that testosterone raging inside of me, I was not satisfied with how my body looked and I knew I could change it for the better.  So I thought, man, I want to be chiseled and ripped to the bone like my heroes I see in movies and on TV—-like Jason Statham in The Transporter, like Brad Pitt in Troy, hell, even like Ravishing Rick Rude from the WWE (that dude was ripped!)

In that moment, I made a conscious, definitive decision in my mind that “THAT IS IT.  This is what I want, and I will do whatever it takes, no matter what, to get it.”

And I was going to do it, the RIGHT WAY.

NO steroids.   NO fat-burning supplements.   NO funky substances with hard to pronounce names.   NO quick fix magic pills sold on late night infomercials.

So I scoured through bookstores and magazine racks, and immersed myself in endless Men’s Health, Muscle and Fitness magazines.  If anything had Arnold Schwarzenegger or my favorite WWE wrestlers flexing muscle on the cover, I picked it up and absorbed every single nugget I could.

I consumed anything and everything bodybuilding and nutrition-related.   Through trial and error,  I followed their best workout plans.  I followed their best meal plans.

I went to the gym, three times a week.  Religiously.  Never skipped a workout.

I ate protein like no tomorrow.  Every meal was protein, protein, protein.

The only supplements I would use would be your typical protein powders, protein shakes, and protein bars you would find at a local GNC or Target store.

I was no nutritionist.  I was no dietian.  I was no personal trainer.

I never formally went to school to learn any of this stuff.

I just self-taught myself everything there was to know about sculpting my body, and what foods to eat—but most importantly, I put that knowledge into consistent action—–and I got results. 

Thanks to reading a bunch of Tony Robbins books, Think and Grow Rich, and other self help success books in years prior,  my mind was strong and focused enough to face this challenge head on and succeed. 

Even after the trip, I was so happy with my results, I continued on this fitness journey of mine.  I was addicted to it, and from then on, I never wanted to stop.

Looking back at the way I ate at the time, throughout my 20s, for me to get leaner and build muscle, a big influence for me was following the “Abs Diet” from Men’s Health magazine.  The main gist of this diet was spreading your meals out to about every 3 hours, eating 5-6 times per day, centering your diet to only the 12 types of “powerfoods,” and allowing yourself one cheat meal a week.

For me, this was the winning combination.

To achieve the results I wanted, I tweaked the Abs Diet to my liking, and my diet consisted of mostly egg whites, chicken breast, turkey breast, whole wheat bread, peanut butter, protein bars, and protein shakes.

That was pretty much it.

And my results were stellar.  My goal was achieved.

Unfortunately though,  I very rarely ate vegetables.

I almost never ate fruits.

All I did to compensate for this deficiency was to take a Centrum multi-vitamin every morning. I thought that was good enough.  (Oh, and the protein bars I ate on a daily basis had vitamins in them, but let’s face it, these protein bars were heavily-processed, and they were loaded with unknown chemicals and weird ingredients.)

I just thought fruits and vegetables were “unnecessary” carbs and sugars that would destroy those six pack abs i worked super hard to achieve.

Pretty naive and ignorant of me.  And definitely, not very healthy.

At the time, believe it or not, I never educated myself on the benefits of eating these fruits and vegetables.  I never really knew about the antioxidants contained in these foods, and I never really knew about their powerhouse, nutritional benefits.

Maybe it was just me, and it went all over my head at that time, but I don’t remember “organic” or “superfood” being a part of the mainstream vocabulary just yet in the mid to late 2000s.

It just never occurred to me how important fruits and vegetables are to the health and well being of the human body.

All I cared about was pounding down protein every single meal to get my lower abs to shred out and those veins to pop in my arms.

Sure, looked great on the outside, but on the inside, what kind of damage was I doing to my body depriving it of all these essential nutrients?

At this point in my life now, in my mid 30s, I’ve noticed how my body has changed over the years:

• I require about 6 hours of sleep now versus the previous 4 hours in my 20s.
• I can’t eat as bad and as much as I used to without feeling and seeing the effects.
• I don’t get as hungry as I used to.
• I don’t need to eat as much as I used to.
• I noticed my metabolism has slowed down a bit.
• And I noticed my body has a harder time now burning fat, staying lean, and recovering.

Understanding all these adverse effects as I grew older, I have transitioned myself out of that party lifestyle.  I drink very rarely now, only on special occasions, even going months on end without it.

I am no longer the party marathon guy I once was, although, small glimpses of the beast does return every once in a while, hehe.

Today, I am even more super-obsessed and super-focused on health, nutrition, and diet like I have never been before.

Eating the healthiest and cleanest foods has become one of the top, if not, THE top priority.

Through my experience, extensive research, and seeing the results first hand within my own body, I’ve come to a realization that my results came from 70% diet, and 30% from the actual workouts.  Even though I would push myself to lug those heavy weights around the gym threee times a week, the hardest work and most impactful results definitely take place in the kitchen.

I believe you truly are what you eat, and whatever foods you put into your body has a direct correlation with how good you look and feel inside and out.

Nowadays, my diet is much more balanced, much more refined.   There is about a 45% protein, 35% vegetables, 20% fruits ratio.  Fruits and vegetables are a regular part of my diet now.  Every protein source I eat always comes with a side of veggies or fruits. 

For the most part, all unnecessary or refined carbs like white rice, breads, enriched pastries, pastas, etc. are eliminated. 

All processed meats, like deli meats and beef/turkey jerkys—gone.  

Protein bars— I don’t even touch anymore, unless they’re made from all natural ingredients.  

I load up and eat all types of greens, mixed vegetables, fruits.  

I’ll spend the few extra bucks now just to go organic. 

I read all ingredient labels, I’m more aware of what I put into my body, and I make sure there are no harmful chemicals, preservatives, or unnecessary ingredients. 

I only eat about 4 times a day now, at least 30 grams of protein each time, the only difference now is that its complimented by a generous portion of either fruits or vegetables.

My diet is so much healthier now than it was in my 20s, and i feel GREAT!  People tell me that I look much younger than I really am, and I attribute that to regular gym sessions, and a cleaner, more natural diet.

I am of the firm belief that eating healthy does not have to taste bland and boring.   Long gone are the days of chewing through that sawdust-like protein bar or just pounding through those dry, flavor-less chicken breasts.

The recipes i will provide on this blog will be a testament to that.  The savory meals are hearty, delicious, protein-filled, and exploding with flavors.  While the desserts or snacks may look deceivingly unhealthy, but in reality, they’re made using real, natural ingredients with no processed flours or unnecessary sugars!  I’ll even throw in different berries or fruits in there to boost its nutritional content, and to make sure you don’t make the same mistake I did, and eat more fruits!

Despite this constant lifestyle of healthy, organic eating, I am still a diehard foodie at heart.   I love checkin’ out new restaurants and trying out new foods.  My favorites are grilled chicken dishes, salads, omelettes, and smoothie cafes.  And for my occasional cheat days, I’ll go for burgers, crepes, cookies, gelato, crazy dessert combinations— that’s right I have cheat days too!

If I am strict on my diet for a good period, i will reward myself with a strategic cheat meal.  In those rare instances when I do cheat, it’s only with the best of the best, and I go all in.  Take for example, this pig out session at a pancake house in San Diego:

“Piggin'” out on these tasty “forbidden” foods every once in a while gives me great inspiration, and creative ideas for healthy new recipes.  “How can I transform these tasty treats into a healthier, natural alternative?”

Or, “How can I morph a delicious maple cinnamon french toast into a low carb, high fiber, protein-packed powerhouse?”

Some of my favorite ingredients for dishes or desserts include: garlic, ginger, eggs, cinnamon, blueberries, bananas, dark chocolate, and of course, the most versatile of all ingredients—-PEANUT BUTTER!

I enjoy peanut butter straight out the jar, or on pretty much anything you can imagine, and I’ll gladly have some for breakfast, lunch, dinner, or even right before bedtime.

Here are some of my favorite recipes you’ll find in my blog:

• ultimate acai blueberry peanut butter protein smoothie
• habanero cilantro turkey burgers
• ultimate blueberry protein muffins
• peanut butter bananas foster protein pancakes
• roasted balsamic maple ginger brussels sprouts

Besides food and cooking, I am a baseball fanatic, movie buff, surfer, guitar player, and a huge MMA/WWE fan.   I recently got into Game of Thrones and WOW!! Mind blown!!  This overtook Breaking Bad and it’s my top show of all time now!!

I have an open mind to everything, I am of the firm belief that there is no one way to do things, and the more creative and outside the box the thinking, the better it is, for everyone.

I’ve come a long way ever since I started this journey back in 2004.   Through my unique experiences, my successes and faiures, my epiphonies and “a-ha” moments, I felt the need to create this blog to not only share my incredibly tasty, nutritious recipes, but to also help you achieve your goals in health and fitness.

At the end of the day, I’m just your typical, average guy who was able to transform my body and maintain it, through consistency, dedication, and discipline not only in the gym, but in the kitchen as well, enjoying nutritious and delicious creative recipes.   Let me show you how!

Thanks for joining me in my quest to share with you my favorite recipes, health, diet, and fitness tips.  I hope my Peanut Butter on Everything blog will help to motivate you to enjoy and live your life at optimum health.   

If you have any suggestions as to how I could improve my blog, if there is anything you would like to see me cover in future posts, or for anything else, please shoot me a message on social or send me an email.

And don’t forget to subscribe to my email newsletter and follow me on social media.

I look forward to connecting with you soon.

Cheers and good health to you all!!

 

 

P.S….I was recently featured in SD Voyager magazine.   Check out the interview down below!!