Food Lessons Learned at #IHOP

I took my five kids plus Jake to International House of Pancakes for their 57th anniversary and 57-cent short stack of pancakes recently (and then our friends the Joneses also came with their dad). Being on Weight Watchers myself, you would think a place like this would be like a landmine field for me. But it was fine. Here's why and some lessons I learned about food I want to pass on to you:

1. Plan. I had planned for this visit for a few days so I had time to prepare in my mind what I was going to eat. If I had just been dropped into an IHOP by an airplane and had been starving and unprepared, I would have definitely ordered one of everything on the menu. But that wasn't the case, thankfully.
2. Treat. I didn't deprive myself. I was there for the short stack, after all, so I decided to figure out the Points value of a pancake (4) plus syrup and have one. I took the other two home to Mr. Kerrie.
3. Know. I got a side of scrambled eggs for some protein and to offset the sugar. I find that when I eat pure carbs/sugary items I can feel my mood change and I get grumpy. I also got some bacon for the kids so they could have some protein.
4. Stop. When I was done, I stopped eating. I couldn't eat all the eggs so I passed the rest on to one of my kids who wanted them (usually my 14-year-old growing-like-a-weed son!).

Eating out can be a real challenge but if you plan ahead you can handle it!