Preschoolers with Knives: How young can a child be and still learn how to cook? at Slate :: “The great, tubercular Soviet psychologist Lev Vygotsky proposed the concept of ‘a zone of proximal development,’ for the work a child is not quite able to do on his own. With the guidance of someone more skilled, though, he soon can. With the exception of the oven, and a lot of the stove, much of cooking amounts to a zone of proximal development, even for a preschooler.” Great thoughts on taking kids seriously in the kitchen.

French Kids Don’t Get Fat: Why? at Karen le Billon :: Lots to think about here.

The Postpartum Diet at Simple Bites :: Encouraging and delicious guidance from Aimee on meeting three postpartum needs: physical energy and healing, milk production and quality, and bowel regularity. Several great recipes for new moms – or friends visiting new moms – to try.

In the Kitchen: Knife Skills for Kids at Creative Family Fun :: Our little guy is already pretty capable with a knife. “Only touch the handle, not the blade, Mama.” Just this week he cut all the mushrooms for our pizza. Don’t miss the guacamole recipe in this post!

A Single Mom Takes Off the Superwoman Cape at Simple Mom :: “I am going to cease the super human expectations, take a breath and focus on one thing I can do. Sometimes that one thing involves playing with legos or dump trucks with a beautiful little boy. But sometimes that means putting on a movie for him, so I can spend some time journaling and clearing my head.”

Happy Hour at Home: Apple Smash at Pink of Perfection :: Seasonal! Not kid-friendly!

Food for Thought Friday is a (more or less) weekly list of links – tasty morsels, if you will, for belly and brain.