This Is What The First Lady Eats

What the First Lady of the United States eats is usually a pretty big deal. She tends to set the "culinary tone" of not only the White House, but the entire country while she serves as FLOTUS, according to NPR. Michelle Obama, for example, famously encouraged the country to eat healthy and to exercise through the Let's Move and My Plate initiatives. Other First Ladies before her also made culinary statements, usually set in accordance with the political climate during their husbands' time in office — Eleanor Roosevelt served during the Great Depression and kept things simple and plain, and Jackie Kennedy brought sophistication, fine dining  and French cuisine to the White House.

Melania Trump is notoriously reclusive, though, and we don't know very much yet about how much of an impact her food habits will have, if any. Here's everything we know so far about what the First Lady eats.

It probably won't come as a big surprise that the First Lady likes to keep her breakfast pretty light and healthy, often having a green smoothie as her first meal of the day. In 2013, she shared what she calls her "every day delicious & healthy breakfast," with her followers on Facebook, after apparently receiving many fan requests for the recipe. The former model says she uses only fresh and organic fruits and veggies, and this particular recipe calls for spinach, celery, carrots, blueberries, and apples. She mixes all that with fat-free yogurt, as well as apple juice and orange juice, and then tops it off with olive oil, flax seeds, Omega-3 supplements, and vitamin D for even more nutrients. No word on whether she still does her own blending now that she's FLOTUS — or whether she's switched up her ingredients to include produce from the White House garden. 

She may be a fruit lover, but the First Lady is a little bit more selective when it comes to the vegetables she consumes. In an appearance on The Martha Stewart Show (back when Donald was simply the host of The Apprentice), the Trumps prepared Donald's favorite meal — meatloaf sandwiches. Melania said that she doesn't eat onions, and doesn't like artichokes, keeping them off her sandwich. The only vegetables she allowed on her sandwich were dill pickles. 

Though she may not like to eat veggies (that aren't blended into a smoothie, anyway), she does realize the importance of including them in her diet. "I encourage you to continue to eat a lot of vegetables and fruits, so you grow up healthy and take care of yourself," she told a group of children during a 2017 event in the White House garden. That day, she helped the children harvest lettuce, kale, peas, radishes, Swiss chard and mustard. They then planted cabbage, cauliflower, turnips, and carrots — keeping the Obama family's beloved garden active and cared for. 

Melania usually prefers to eat healthy (as we've already mentioned), but it seems that just like the rest of us, she will visit a fast food joint in a pinch — or maybe just when she gets a craving she can't resist. In 2017, Melania traveled to Texas to meet with victims and first responders in the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey. While traveling through the heavily-damaged area, she and Karen Pence, wife of Vice President Mike Pence, paid a lunch-time visit to the original Whataburger location in Corpus Christi. There's no word on what the First Lady actually ordered from the franchise, but she and Karen Pence left with several bags, including lunch for the press traveling with them. While Whataburger does have a few healthier salad options on their menu, I think we'd all like to believe that she indulged in a juicy cheeseburger and at least a few greasy fries, right?

We all know that Donald and Melania love a good night out on the town (or at least they did before Donald entered into the world of politics), so it shouldn't come as a surprise that Melania is no stranger to restaurant menus. What might shock you, though, is that she doesn't always order the salad or the fish. Mrs. Trump revealed to New York Magazine in 2010 that she's a big fan of New York's many dining options — and she's not afraid to indulge. "One thing I love most about New York is the variety of amazing foods you can eat," she said. "My all-time favorite is the chicken Parmigianino at Jean Georges." Of course, you'll have to take that recommendation with a grain of salt since the Jean Georges restaurant is located inside of Trump International Hotel and Tower, but judging by the prices, there's a good chance it is a pretty tasty meal.

There aren't many who have the power to resist chocolate, and Melania is even susceptible to its power from time time. Chocolate is one indulgence the First Lady refuses to do without, believing that indulging your cravings once in a while is important. This indulgence isn't as decadent as it sounds, though. While chocolate is often high in fat and sugar, chocolate that is at least 70 percent cacao (like dark chocolate) actually has several health benefits when consumed in small amounts. It has been shown to improve cardiovascular health, reduce stress, and can possibly help to prevent diabetes. And something tells us that's the kind of chocolate the FLOTUS is reaching for. Health benefits aside, isn't it nice to imagine her digging a chocolate bar out of the bottom of her purse or the back of a kitchen drawer? That just goes to prove that even the strongest-willed among us can't say no to chocolate every single time. Can you blame her?

Believe it or not, that creamy and delicious chocolate isn't even her only indulge. Along with chocolate, ice cream is Melania's other big sweet indulgence. She says it's good to eat those things "once in a while," although she never explains how often that really is (Come on Melania, we need to know these things!). Still, it's nice to know that even Melania isn't afraid of the occasional splurge — and even better, she's not afraid to talk about it. 

Her stance on moderation when it comes to sweets is a sharp contrast from her husband's dessert preferences — though they do both share the same love for frozen dairy. In a Time exclusive, it was revealed that at dinner, "he [Trump] gets two scoops of vanilla ice cream with his chocolate cream pie, instead of the single scoop for everyone else." Maybe he's sharing his extra scoop with his ice cream-loving wife? It's possible, but for some reason, we doubt it.

Melania and Donald Trump also have similar drink preferences — though the amounts they consume are vastly different. They both prefer to drink Diet Coke — though Melania prefers to only drink hers from glass bottles. While we agree that preference sounds terribly cliche and very over-the-top, Coke does claim it's the tastiest way to enjoy their beverage, so she may be onto something. It's also the most expensive way to enjoy Diet Coke, but we're pretty sure that's not an issue for the Trumps. 

Her husband seems to care less about the fanciness of the container, as long as it's flowing steadily. He definitely drinks more of the bubbly, brown diet soda. A lot more. According to The New York Times, the president drinks 12 cans of the soda every day. We're trying hard not to judge here, but a case a day is an awful lot for any one person to consume. We're pretty sure Mrs. Trump indulges her Diet Coke cravings far less frequently. 

The First Lady is a stickler when it comes to taking her vitamins, and often adds them to her breakfast to make sure she gets the nutrients she needs every day. They're an essential part of not just her diet, but also her beauty regimen. "I take vitamins and use a moisturizer that's an oxygen cream," she told Refinery 29. "Everything is natural. It's A, C, and E, and I mix them together. It's so important to care for your skin — inside and out from morning to night (especially in the night!). You need to take makeup off and moisturize!" In fact, she told Bella New York that if she was stranded on a deserted island, she'd still find a way to get her vitamins (along with moisturizer and sunscreen) — they're that important. You can tell where the First Lady's priorities are (and you can see them in her skin, too!). 

Healthy eating is obviously an important key to Melania's trim and slim figure (next to working out and, likely, some fantastic genetics), but she's not one to jump on the bandwagon with trendy fad diets. This means you absolutely won't see her as the next spokesperson for Weight Watchers, Adkins, Jenny Craig, or any other popular food plan — and she's not eliminating entire food groups or counting calories. Instead, she developed healthy eating habits way back in her modeling days, and must have some very strong willpower, because for the most part, she's stuck to them ever since. She told Refinery 29 that her eating habits are "not a diet. I just like to eat healthy because I feel better and have more energy," she said. Most of us have probably discovered that at one time or another, but few of us have the kind of discipline she displays when it comes to meal time.

At the end of the day, everything is about moderation — a good rule to follow both with your diet, and your life in general. "It's good to indulge cravings and your tastes once in a while," she told BELLA Magazine, "as long as you balance those things with healthy foods." In fact, that theory might be the secret to her success, as some experts believe that occasional indulges are actually pretty healthy, as they can prevent you from uncontrolled binges when your willpower finally runs out — and you know it will, eventually. 

She may not be going out of her way to set an example as far as her diet goes, but if we pay careful attention, First Lady Melania Trump is actually doing quite a service. She's leading by example, making smart choices, and choosing foods that keep both her body — and her mind — healthy and happy.