President Obama says broccoli is his favorite food

President Barack Obama gestures while speaking at a business forum aimed at increasing investment in Africa, Monday, July 1, 2013, in Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania. The president is traveling in Tanzania on the final leg of his three-country tour in Africa. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

Forget sweets or burgers--President Obama says broccoli is his favorite food.

Reuters reports Obama told children at a White House event recognizing kids who won a healthy recipe contest that he likes hot dogs and such but broccoli is his number one pick.

The president's answer places him in direct odds with former President George H.W. Bush, who famously declared in 1990 that he hated broccoli.

"And I haven't liked it since I was a little kid and my mother made me eat it. And I'm president of the United States, and I'm not going to eat any more broccoli!" he said.

After Bush's declaration, steamed broccoli growers shipped thousands of pounds of broccoli to the White House in protest, and the vegetable was farmed out to homeless shelters, Reuters reports.

The event, called the "Kids' State Dinner,'' recognized winning recipes like "picky eater pita pizza pockets'' and "sweet potato turkey sliders.'' It is part of First Lady Michelle Obama's anti-obesity campaign.

Reuters contributed to this report