By the American College of Emergency Physicians
Looking for finger foods for your open house? There’s no better way to interest older kids and teenagers in EMS than to gross them out. With gelatin brains, hearts and eyeballs, kids can hold a life-giving organ in their own hands - albeit a slippery, slimy, inanimate one. These “ick"-inducing foods and drinks will indulge kids’ senses, while teaching them about their bodies and acquainting them with EMS.
Body Part Punch
8 cups cranberry juice
6 cups sparkling apple juice
2 cups pineapple juice
2 cups ginger ale
6 orange slices
8 grapes
8 raisins
1 clean, unused latex glove
Red food coloring
The night before serving, pierce each grape with a knife, then stuff a raisin into each one to make an eyeball. Fill the glove with water tinted with dark red food coloring. Freeze both the “eyeballs” and the glove overnight.
The next day, combine the juices and orange slices in a punch bowl with some ice cubes. remove the glove from the frozen hand. Place the grapes and frozen hand to float in the punch.
JELL-O® Brain
(Makes one life-size brain)
Brain Mold, available online
No-stick cooking spray
3 6-oz boxes of peach or watermelon Jell-O®
2 ½ cups boiling water
1 cup cold water
1 12-oz can fat-free evaporated milk
Food coloring
Spray the entire cavity of the mold, wiping out excess oil. Put the Jell-o® powder in a large bowl. Add 2 ½ cups of boiling water and stir until completely dissolved, about 3 minutes.
Stir in 1 cup cold water and the evaporated milk. Add a few drops of green or red food coloring to modify the color, if desired.
Pour Jell-o® mixture into the mold, leaving approximately one inch of space from the rim of the mold. Place the mold in a bowl to keep it upright and place in the refrigerator overnight.
Modifications: to make a bleeding brain, purée two cans of peaches and one can of raspberry pie filling. When pouring the gelatin into the mold, fill up half the mold, then put it in the fridge until set but not firm (about 50 minutes). Spoon the fruit purée into the mold and add the remaining gelatin. refrigerate overnight.
To make a gelatin heart using a life-size heart mold, follow this same recipe, using these modifications: use only one box of Jell-o®, only one-half a can of evaporated milk and only one cup of boiling water. Omit the cold water.