Nursery rhymes, folk songs, and children's songs about food
“Food” is something very familiar to children, isn’t it?
When they start speaking, many first learn words like “mamma,” or they remember the names of their favorite foods.
In this article, we’ve picked out “songs about food” from among many nursery rhymes.
We’ll introduce plenty of songs that feature foods kids love, like fruit, bread, and curry rice.
Some of them aren’t just for singing—you can enjoy hand games and dancing, too.
Even children who find eating difficult or are picky eaters might enjoy singing these songs.
It would be great if singing during mealtimes helps them have more fun and eat a little more.
Nursery rhymes, folk songs, and children's songs about food (1–10)
Ghost PancakesTokyo Heidi
There are many nursery rhymes about ghosts, but this one is interesting for its unique idea of ghosts making pancakes.
It starts off with a somewhat eerie tone, but turns cheerful partway through.
Listening to it makes you crave pancakes!
The Bento Box Song
A children’s song about making a bento.
Many of you probably remember it well, right? The ingredients that appear are rice balls and ginger, carrots, cherries, burdock root, butterbur, and shiitake mushrooms.
You can’t help but wish at least for a rolled omelet to be included.
Actually, there’s also a modern version of the song.
And what goes in it is—believe it or not—a sandwich.
It definitely feels tailored to the present day.
Still, the side dishes in that one are plain too.
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By the way, both versions are popular as hand-play songs, and regardless of the side dishes, it’s still a favorite among children today!
The Curry Rice SongMinayo
It’s a simple song that introduces how to make curry.
It follows the basic steps: sauté the ingredients, simmer them, then add the roux—so even if you’ve never made curry before, try cooking along as you listen.
It’s also fun to make curry with your kids while playing this song.
Personally, I only just learned about adding pepper at the very end, so I’d like to try that next time.
By the way, the part that says “pork” can be swapped for chicken or beef, so sometimes it’s sung as “meat.” Be warned: if you listen while you’re hungry, it might really get your stomach rumbling.
My Mixed JuiceTakeshi Shibuya
It’s a song that says if you put everything in a blender, make a mixed juice, and drink it, something wonderful might happen today.
The childlike imagination in the lyrics is very cute.
If we sing this song, we might even be able to sneak in a vegetable mixed juice and they’ll drink it!
five melon breads
This song lets you study math while singing a hand-play song.
There are five melon breads, and then the children buy one, then another.
You can have fun while thinking about how the five melon breads decrease in number.
It’s highly recommended because you can enjoy learning while singing.
This song might help children overcome their dislike of math.
Try singing it together with your child before they start elementary school.
It could also be a good review for children who are already in elementary school.
Vegetable Song
Vegetables that we tend to push to the edge of the plate without thinking.
Many kids don’t like vegetables, right? This one is also a fingerplay song, so try singing and playing along as you encourage them to take on those tricky veggies.
tomatoMegumi Oonaka
There are quite a few children’s songs that feature tomatoes, and perhaps their popularity comes from the cuteness of the name and the fact that it reads the same from top to bottom and bottom to top.
This particular song has lyrics by Takeshi Shoji and music by Megumi Oonaka.
It’s a nursery rhyme that charmingly personifies tomatoes—for example, saying they wear blue clothes when they’re children, but change into red clothes when they grow up.