A traditional Thanksgiving meal on tap for First Family

President Obama is sharing a traditional Thanksgiving feast -- including the choice of six different pies for dessert -- with family, friends and staff.

The White House released the First Family’s holiday menu Thursday: turkey, ham, cornbread stuffing, oyster stuffing, greens, macaroni and cheese, sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes, green bean casserole and dinner rolls.

For dessert: banana cream pie, pumpkin pie, apple pie, sweet potato pie, huckleberry pie and cherry pie. The “Let’s Move” calorie burning begins Friday.

White House chef Sam Kass told NBC’s David Gregory this week (see video below) that the First Family has the same type of holiday meal at the White House that they had long before coming to Washington.

“We just have fun and enjoy really traditional dishes, just like dishes that are being eaten all over the country,” he said.

Kass has the luxury of a full garden just outside the White House kitchen when he cooks. Of course, with Michelle Obama’s focus on healthy eating, balanced meals are a must at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave.

“There always has to be a vegetable on the plate, and it always has to get eaten -- that’s for sure, that’s non-negotiable,” he said. “But we also make sure we’re having fun. We have kids in this house and so you know, we throw them a bone every once and while, give ‘em something that’s fun now and again.”

Before heading to the residence for the holiday meal, Obama phoned 10 members of the armed services deployed in Iraq and Afghanistan, the White House said. He “thanked each of them for their service and sacrifice and wished them and their families a Happy Thanksgiving.”

On Friday, Mrs. Obama accepts the official White House Christmas tree, a 19-foot tall balsam fir from Neshkoro, Wis.