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That Time I Was Invited to The White House

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Hi, I'm Tina!

I’m the owner of Carrots ‘N’ Cake as well as a Certified Nutrition Coach and Functional Diagnostic Nutrition Practitioner (FDN-P). I use macros and functional nutrition to help women find balance within their diets while achieving their body composition goals.

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Ahhh, it was so awesome!!

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And what an honor. Being invited to The White House was definitely one of the coolest blogging opportunities I’ve ever had!

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On Tuesday morning, I attended an event at The White House, along with 150 other bloggers, to learn all about the First Lady’s Let’s Move campaign. I also got to spend some time with some fellow blog buddies: Brittany, KathAnne, and Liz.

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Once we passed through security (it was similar to airport security), we found ourselves in a long hallway with candid shots of various Presidential families over the years.

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I especially liked the photos of the Presidential pets!

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I even snapped a special pic of Eli, the macaw, for my favorite little bird lover.

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We also had some time to snap some photos– bloggers in The White House!!

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Soon, we were led into a large room for a reception.

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Of course, I needed to try the coffee.

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Heyyy, just having some coffee and tea at The White House, NBD.

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After that, we all headed into a nearby ballroom to listen to various talks from key leaders from the Let’s Move campaign, including officials from the Department of Health and Human Services, the President’s Council on Fitness, Sports & Nutrition, and the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA).

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Let’s Move is a program developed by First Lady Michelle Obama in 2010 to solve the epidemic of childhood obesity. It includes a ton of initiatives– developing dietary guidelines for schools and even childcare centers (I actually stopped this morning to look at the menu at Quinn’s daycare and sure enough it included a note about adhering to USDA guidelines), increasing physical activity in schools, adding salad bars to schools, encouraging kids and family to get outdoors, and so much more. Let’s just say, the folks at Let’s Move have been really busy over the last 6 years!

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We heard from Dominique Dawes, co-chair of the President’s Council on Fitness, Sports & Nutrition, three-time Olympic gymnast, and mom of two. (Her youngest daughter’s name is Quinn!) I remember watching her at the 1996 Summer Olympics as part of the Magnificent Seven, so it was really neat to hear her speak live in person– and she was really funny! She joked about motherhood– how she still wears and loves pantyhose because of the control top and how sitting in over an hour of traffic that morning was like a vacation away from her kids–and she spoke to many of the same mom challenges, like sneaking veggies into her kids smoothies, pouches, and even ice cream. My favorite piece of advice from her: Teach physical fitness to kids when they’re young– just like brushing their teeth– so it becomes part of their everyday life.

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Other highlights include the new Team FNV (fruits and veggies), a program that recruits super influential people like actors and professional athletes as a way to endorse fruits and veggies and get kids excited about eating them. Definitely check out their website and Instagram feed. Both are great! And this focus group with the First Lady and Will Ferrell was absolutely hilarious!!

After that, we took a quick break. Please note the President seal on the hand towels in the bathroom. Yes, I snapped a photo. #nerdalert

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When we returned, we enjoyed a live cooking demonstration from the Executive Chef of The White House. She made Tuscan Kale Salads in mason jars. (I love the idea for garbanzo bean croutons!)

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And then it was time to hear the First Lady herself speak!

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Michelle Obama was exactly like you’d expect: Poised and professional, but down-to-earth and totally relatable. In the video below, she talks about her own struggles with getting her family to eat better.

She also had some great remarks about the importance of nutrition in our children’s lives. She said it’s on us. It’s our responsibility and sometimes we have to make our kids do things they don’t want to do. (Mal and I already say this exact thing at least once a day to Quinn!) If your child said they didn’t want to go to the dentist, you wouldn’t let them skip their appointment, so why would you treat nutrition any differently? We’re the adults and we decide what to feed our kids, so it’s our responsibility to feed them well. She said it’s our “secret weapon” as moms. I definitely felt inspired and plan to make some healthy changes in our family’s diet.

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The event concluded with a stroll across The White House lawn to explore the Kitchen Gardens.

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Fresh veggies and herbs were already blooming!

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Visiting The White House was such an amazing experience and one I will never forget. Thank you, POPSUGAR Select, for the opportunity!

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