First lady Michelle Obama stops in Dallas Friday as part of a national tour to promote childhood fitness and the battle against childhood obesity.
She'll join chef contestants from past seasons of the Bravo series "Top Chef" and members of the Dallas Cowboys on Friday to promote healthier food choices for students in the nation's schools.
The chefs will compete in a healthy cooking contest with students from a public Dallas elementary school at the Kleberg Rylie Recreation Center in southeastern Dallas.
Obama opened a two-day North Texas visit by sitting down to dinner with a group of eight parents to discuss the challenge of keeping their children physically fit.
The six women and two men discussed with Obama how they are changing their families' eating and leisure habits to include more exercise and less fat.
To highlight the point, the dinner at an Olive Garden restaurant in Fort Worth consisted of pasta and meat dishes, soup and salad containing reduced calories and fats.
Obama chose Olive Garden because its parent company agreed to cut the amount of sodium and calories in its meals.
Local
The latest news from around North Texas.
Each guest was chosen based on their efforts to fight childhood obesity. Jason and Andrea Roberts started a program in Oak Cliff that gets children riding bicycles.
"You're just trying to impact your own community, but to have it reach the White House is pretty amazing," Jason Roberts said.
The dinner guests said Obama is just like any mother.
"One of my favorite things she said was, 'I used to be normal. I used to grocery shop. I know what it's like to balance that work-life," Andrea Roberts said.
They said she also talked about her family, including the president.
"President Obama coaches one of her daughter's basketball teams, and it's priority to be there for the girls," said Jenny Hogan, of Frisco.
Her three-day "Let's Move!" tour began Thursday morning in Des Moines, Iowa, and will end Saturday in Orlando, Fla.,
NBC 5's Omar Villafranca contributed to this report.
