The First Lady almost always chooses a cause that she wants to tackle during her husband’s term as president. First Lady Michelle Obama decided that she would use her important position to promote a healthy lifestyle with both food and exercise.
From outdoing Ellen with push-ups to pushing Congress for healthier school lunches, Michelle has encouraged us to live better lives. Here are the most important things that she has taught us when it comes to food.
1. There is more than one way to turn up
Michelle Obama redefines “turn up” with the best vegetable vine ever made, encouraging everyone to turn up with turnips. We can definitely get down with that.
2. Farm-to-table can be garden-to-home
In April 2009, the White House welcomed about two dozen Washington D.C. children to help plant the new organic garden on the South Lawn, just a few strides away from the Oval Office. Reducing our carbon footprint can begin at home by eating fresh produce from a home garden.
3. Eating healthy should start early
We were all taught that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. For the next generation, Michelle Obama made an appearance on Sesame Street to teach children the importance of breakfast. As adults, we usually need a reminder of that as well.
4. Schools should supplement healthy eating
The Obamas’ true commitment to a healthier America was exhibited by the Healthy, Hunger-Free School Kids Act, which was passed on December 13, 2010. This law made considerable changes to school lunches, such as lowering sodium levels, adding more whole grain products, and requiring more fruits and veggies to be served. Schools should have lunches that help children form healthy eating habits, rather than counteract them.
5. Read the nutrition label
The nutrition label is important for one to determine how much is to be eaten of a product and what nutritional value it has for the body. Nutrition labels are now changing for the first time in decades due to the efforts of Michelle and the USDA. They will now have updated information about nutrition science and serving sizes based on what people are actually eating, not what they should eat.
6. Pizza is definitely NOT a vegetable
To our great disappointment, pizza is not a vegetable, but apparently Michelle Obama had to school Congress on this. She wrote an op-ed piece in the New York Times and defended her school lunch program to critics, saying, “‘Remember a few years ago when Congress declared that the sauce on a slice of pizza should be considered a vegetable?'”
7. Be #TeamFNV
Michelle joined a star-studded army of athletes, actors, and celebrities to represent the brand, Fruits and Veggies, led by the Partnership for a Healthier America (PHA). Michelle works with FNV to help make healthier choices easier.
The FNV website has a Products section that simply lists fruits and vegetables, each with their own hilarious description and the various colors they come in. This parody of online shopping shows people that the majority of their food consumption should be real, whole foods.
As her term as First Lady is coming to an end, Michelle has taught us a lot through the years. Although we may not see the future First Lady/First Husband in turnip vines, the health laws and movements that Michelle supported will be a part of America long after she has left the White House.