Kind of depressing

So, an IHOP recently opened in my town. I hadn't eaten there, guessing (correctly, as it turns out) that their signature dish - pancakes - would be too high in sodium for me, especially compared to how I make pancakes at home.

Well, this morning, I looked up their online nutritional menu.

Practically everything, with the exception of a few sides like the small salad and a baked potato, had more sodium than I budget in a single meal, and many, many of the "combos" had well over what I'm supposed to consume in a day.

If I were an activist type, I'd be picketing restaurants demanding they make SOMETHING available - and not just a dang "plain side salad" - to those of us who have to limit sodium. There are at least a few of us out here! (Panera Bread is much better: many of their salads fall sufficiently well within a mealtime sodium budget for me. Oh, the bread probably pushes it over, but I admit: I kind of pretend not to think about that, because I so rarely eat bread, and I like good bread).

On the other hand, now I know if I ever have to eat at IHOP, I will order the Elwood Blues special: dry toasted white bread. (But it would work so much better if I had a dining companion who would order four fried chickens and a Coke.)

But yeah. It really stinks about almost never being able to eat restaurant meals - or get carry out food - any more, and if I do, having to budget for the rest of the week to eat extra low sodium.