First Lady Michelle Obama Flexes Muscles While Harvesting White House Kitchen Garden

— -- First Lady Michelle Obama hosted children from across the country to harvest the White House Kitchen Garden today -- and it was hard work.

The first lady joined students in gathering nutritious items like kale, fennel and turnips from the garden, all to be prepared into a fresh meal minutes later. When she finished, she jokingly flexed her muscles.

“Folks across the country are starting to do what we're doing here at the White House, and it's really helping a lot of kids eat better,” the first lady told the children. “You guys are champions in that effort.”

The White House Kitchen Garden was first planted in the spring of 2009 as a part of her healthy eating initiative and the Let’s Move! campaign. The produce grown in the garden has been used for everything from official functions to family dinners, and some of it has been donated to local homeless shelter and soup kitchen, Miriam’s Kitchen.

For many of the students, this wasn’t their first time at the White House. This same group of kids hailing from Colorado, Louisiana, Washington, D.C., and Wisconsin planted the fruits and vegetables in this garden back in April. This time, they were joined by celebrity chef Rachael Ray and Chef Frankie Celenza.

After the harvest, the kids and first lady chopped up vegetables and cooked a delicious-smelling spring vegetable curry.