Over the past few months, I’ve fallen into a pretty predictable Saturday morning routine – wake up at seven, eat the usual power breakfast of peanut butter and banana on toast with a glass of skim milk, get to the gym for 9:15, work out for an hour, and do my weekly grocery shop.  

This Saturday, however, the instructor who normally teaches my weekend classes is away on vacation so I decided to shake things up a bit. Instead of doing my usual 9:15 workout at the women’s gym, I drove a little farther to the co-ed gym where I did an 11am Body Attack class. I’ve done Body Attack many times, but this felt different for a couple of reasons:

1. There were boys there! Seriously, I’m not used to having men present during my exercise classes; I think it makes me more competitive.
2. I’m used to seeing the same faces at most of my classes; while I recognized a few women from my regular gym, I’d never seen most of the other participants before. They were much more energetic than my usual group of Attackers.
3. The instructor chose a release I’d never done before with lots of nineties dance music. How can you not get psyched about nineties dance music? 
4. Different location, different day, different time, different instructor - it’s weird how changing these variables can change your entire workout.

On account of the sunshine and the post-exercise endorphins, I was in a great mood driving home from the gym – we’re talking windows rolled down, singing at the top of my lungs good mood. When I got home, I had my go-to lunch for when I’m in a rush (okay, I wasn’t exactly in a rush, I was just starving after my workout!) – chicken quesadillas with salsa – and watched a “Melrose Place” rerun on DVD (one of my favourite guilty pleasures). This is the easiest recipe ever and never fails to satisfy.

To make:

1. Preheat broiler.
2. Mist frying pan with cooking spray and heat spinach until wilted.
3. Place two small or one large whole wheat wrap(s) on a baking sheet.  Fill with grilled chicken strips (you can either grill the chicken yourself or buy it pre-grilled from the grocery store; since this is my lazy day lunch, I usually always go with the latter option), 1/3 cup of shredded Tex Mex cheese and cooked spinach.
4. Fold wrap(s) in half. Broil for two minutes each side.
5. Cut into four pieces. Serve with two tablespoons of salsa.
6. Pop in a DVD of your favourite bad TV show from the 90s and enjoy!