No, Obama Does Not Eat Exactly 7 Almonds Every Night

In a profile on President Obama last month, The New York Times drew back the veil on the final months of the 44th president of the United States, particularly how he spends his quiet evenings alone. One of the details that went viral was that the president was strict on snacking.According to his personal chef Sam Kass, Obama snacks on exactly seven almonds every evening. "Michelle and I would always joke: not six, not eight," Kass told The New York Times. "Always seven almonds."

Since then, the peculiar nut habit has been the source of mild teasing from journalists and social media.

But the president wants to set the record straight: He was just kidding.

"Sam relayed this joke to The New York Times in the article, and somehow it was relayed as if I was counting out the seven almonds," Obama told NBC's Savannah Guthrie. "All my friends were calling up, and they're saying: 'You know, this seems a little anal. This is kind of weird,' and I had to explain to them, no, this was a joke."

When asked if he would upgrade his allotment to 10 or 11 almonds, the president smiled and said, "Absolutely."