I hate diversity workshops. “Real change comes from having enough comfort to be really honest and say something very uncomfortable.

We were so young, so in love, and so in debt.

People are always going to have opinions, and people have a right to their opinions, particularly when you're the First Lady; you're representing the nation. I've tried to be at peace with the choices that I make first, and then be open to everyone else's reflection.

My role models were the people in my life. My mom, for sure. My dad. The teachers. For me, role-modeling was immediate, it was touchable. It was rare for me to idolize a movie star or a singer...because, truly, children connect with who is in their lives, present and accounted for.

To me, with age, everything has gotten better. You have way more control; you know yourself better.

I can make choices that make me happy, and it will ripple and benefit my kids, my husband, and my physical health. That's hard for women to own; we're not taught to do that.

I'm not asking any of you to make drastic changes to every single one of your recipes or to totally change the way you do business. But what I am asking is that you consider reformulating your menu in pragmatic and incremental ways to create healthier versions of the foods that we all love.