| Planning a Halloween party with your class? Here are some ideas for "gross food" to use with your students. Some of these need a little advance preparation - ask your room parents or party planners to help out. Bat Wings
These mild chicken wings are a healthful choice on a day filled with candy! Ingredients
- Chicken wings (amount dependent upon class size)
- Olive oil
- Garlic salt
- Rosemary
Directions
Place chicken wings in a single layer in a baking dish. Drizzle with olive oil, then sprinkle garlic salt and rosemary over them. Turn the wings with tongs to coat all sides. Bake, uncovered, in a 350° oven for 40 minutes or until cooked through. These may be served either warm or chilled. Curriculum Connections
Science: Flight – How wings help birds (or bats!) fly – Anatomy of wings
Nutrition: Chicken vs. beef – Olive oil vs. butter – Baked vs. fried
Guts and Blood
Spaghetti is always a crowd-pleaser, and students will love being grossed out by eating guts and blood!
Ingredients
- Cooked spaghetti noodles
- Spaghetti sauce
- Parmesan cheese
Directions
Depending on the facilities available at your school, either have the prepared spaghetti brought to school warm, or heat up the parts in the school kitchen. Serve in plastic bowls with forks and spoons for twisting. Curriculum Connections
Science: Anatomy (length and purpose of intestines) – Blood (how blood travels, blood parts and purposes, blood types)
Language: (Etymology) The word spaghetti comes from Italian, meaning cord. Have students speculate about how this pasta got its name. Have students research other words and their histories.
First Aid: Blood Safety – Stopping blood flow – Cuts and abrasions
Frankenstein Eyes
These bloodshot eyes are a real treat, and fun to make!
Ingredients
- Sugar cookies
- White frosting
- Extra-large chocolate baking chips
- Red gel frosting in tubes, or red candy laces
Directions
First, stress the importance of cleanliness in food preparation, and have students wash up. Give each student a sugar cookie and some white frosting. Have students frost the cookies to the edges. Place one large chocolate chip (point down) in the center of the cookie (the pupil of the eye). With the red gel frosting, draw wiggly lines from the chocolate chip to the edge (the bloodshot lines). Or, cut strips of the red candy laces, and place them from the center to the edge. Curriculum Connections
Science: Anatomy (eye parts and purposes) – Sight and vision – Allergies
Language: (Creative Writing) Possible story titles include The Eye on the Loose, A Modern Day Frankenstein, The Monster in our City, or What the Eye Saw.
Spider Webs
Beware! This is a messy - but fun - activity! You will need thin plastic gloves for each student (these can be found in the food service department of wholesale food stores). You will also need a dark paper plate for each student.
Ingredients
- Cotton candy
- Black licorice, cut in 4-inch and 2-inch pieces
- Black gel frosting in tubes
Directions
First, stress the importance of cleanliness in food preparation, and have students wash up. Spiders: Have students use the black gel frosting as glue to assemble an 8-legged "spider." Use the 4-inch piece of black licorice for the "body," and glue the 2-inch pieces (4 on a side) as legs. Web: Have students wear the gloves and carefully pull apart the cotton candy, making thin strands. (Be careful not to get the cotton candy wet.) Starting at the center of the plate, make a web design with the strands of cotton candy. Place the spider in the middle, and take photos of your students with their creations. Curriculum Connections
Science: Arachnids/spiders (body parts, poisonous bites) – Silk
Math: Angles – Symmetry – Circumference and diameter
Language: (Etymology) The word spider comes from Old English spinnan (to spin). Have students speculate about how the spider was named. Have students research other words and their histories.
Social Studies: (Ancient Greeks) Have students read the Greek myth of Arachnia. Discuss the history of Greek myths, and have students look up other myths that explain why something exists.
The Floating Hand in the Punch Bowl
Your students will want to make these ice hands at home and gross out their families! You will need help from room parents or party planners to freeze a few hands ahead of time, and bring them in to the party. Ingredients
- Ginger ale
- Fruit punch, preferably red (to look like blood)
- One or two ice hands per punch bowl
Directions
To make ice hands, half-fill plastic gloves with water. (You can find plastic gloves in the food service department of wholesale food stores.) Secure the base of each glove by twisting and taping shut. Lay the gloves on a baking sheet and place in the freezer. When frozen, cut the base of the glove and dip the hand in warm water to loosen the ice from the glove. Mix the ginger ale and fruit punch to taste, and float the hands in the punch.
Lady Fingers
Gross out your students with this easy-to-make treat!
Ingredients
- Tube of easy-to-bake cinnamon roll dough
- Sliced almonds
- Red food coloring, or red frosting
Directions
Unroll the cinnamon-roll dough and cut width-wise approximately the size of fingers. Place pieces on cookie sheets and add a slice of almond at one end of each piece. Bake for the necessary amount of time according to the directions. While cooling, drop red food dye or frosting on the almonds to make them look like painted fingernails! | 
