What Michelle Obama ate -- and where she ate it

Politico

By Marian Burros
10/10/11

What Michelle Obama ate -- and where she ate it

The dining-out habits of presidents and first ladies have been chronicled for years, but when it comes to Michelle Obama, every morsel is scrutinized.

When she was spotted ordering a burger, fries, chocolate milkshake and a Diet Coke at Shake Shack this summer — a meal clocking in at 1,700 calories — her critics were ecstatic: hypocrite, fatso and for good measure, fashion disaster, were among the milder insults hurled at her on the anti-Obama blogs.

Blame the vitriol, at least in part, on the first lady’s campaign to reduce childhood obesity, “Let’s Move,” which warns that a steady diet of fast food and lack of exercise are turning little children into little blimps. Never mind what nutritionists and what Michelle Obama have said over and over about eating: “There is nothing wrong with occasionally splurging on treats and desserts.”

What to make of the 1,700-calorie outing? Did Mrs. Obama eat it all herself? Did she, as suggested by the two drinks, share it with someone else? Or does she blow her own advice when she goes out?

To find out, an investigation was in order of what she has eaten at the 33 or more restaurants in the Washington area she has visited with her husband, family, friends or staff since January 2009. I ate at 25 of them. (Some places may have been missed: Sometimes she goes out in disguise à la Target.)

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