I’m not sure how it started but my sons and and their grandmother have a running joke about eyeballs. The boys will throw the word “eyeball” into a conversation and Grammy pretends to be totally grossed out (although sometimes it’s not an act!).
Low Oxalate Eyeball (un)Appetizers! (Lesson learned: try a black or red plate, so the eyeballs really show up!)
The boys love this joke so much, I thought it would be fun to really gross Grammy out with some creepy Halloween appetizers. So here’s your warning: If the thought of eating an eyeball makes your stomach turn, this is not the post for you. But if you crave a little low oxalate fun, here’s a sure-fire Halloween party hit for your little ghouls and goblins. Eyeball (un)Appletizers!
My boys thought these were fabulous! They had a lot of fun making the eyeballs and even more fun serving them. They chopped the crab with plastic knifes, made the salad, stuffed a few egg while mommy stuffed the rest, and added the sliced olive pupils. We served the eyeballs on a plate with a lid, so when Grammy lifted the lid she would see two eyes staring back at her. Success! Grammy was totally grossed out by these! She managed to choke down one before she gagged and couldn’t continue, but the boys (and their Papa) laughed like crazy and ate a lot! I had two and they weren’t bad (although I admit I took the black olive off the second one–very cool looking but not the best taste combination!).
Hope you have fun making and eating your own disgusting Halloween (un)appetizers!
Eyeball (un)Appetizers
8 – 12 hardboiled eggs
4 – 6 ounces crab or chicken salad (see salad suggestions below)
Sliced black olives* or raisins
Shell the eggs and slice them in half. Remove the egg yolks and save them for something else (egg salad is a yummy low oxalate lunch). Arrange the egg halves on a serving plate. Spoon 1 – 2 teaspoons of crab salad into the hollow of each egg half. Top each egg with a slice of black olive. Enjoy!
Makes 16 – 24 appetizers.
"Ewwww!"
Oxalate Note: Sliced black olives are a high oxalate ingredient with 22 mg. oxalate per half cup. BUT one slice of black olive has less than 1 mg. oxalate and black olives really do look the creepiest! Of course raisins will lower the oxalate level and I admit, they do taste a lot better with raisins! So make your trade-offs depending on what your kids would enjoy most.
Salad Suggestions: I wanted my eyeballs to really be gross with a somewhat realistic texture and a blood-shot appearance. The easiest way to do this is to use real or imitation crab, separated into chunks with a fork. Add enough mayonnaise (or oil of your choice) to hold it together and maybe a dash of salt, pepper (or Old Bay seasoning if you’re wiling to use an untested ingredient), and Voila! You have a low oxalate crab salad that will make your eyeballs look bloodshot (and really gross!). Another way to do this is to use shredded or finely chopped chicken or turkey. Again add a little mayo, pepper, and salt, but this time you might want to add some thin strips of red bell pepper to achieve the blood-shot look. I used 8 ounces of crab meat to make my salad and had at least a third of it left over after stuffing the eyeballs (which my sons ate as their snack that day without any add-ins). You can always make a bigger batch of salad and add some chopped broccoli stalks (or the egg yolks) to the left-overs for lunch the next day.
link {UK readers use 
; Canadian readers use 
}. You may also make a purchase through my Amazon search engine below, or through any of the suppliers below. I will receive a small commission (with no extra charge to you.) Thank you!