Would you eat food left out over night? I did.

UPDATE:

WOW! Did not anticipate so many to weigh in on this! Please know I did read every comment, and this was super helpful to me. My takeaways: 1. While I am still feeling guilt about wasting food/money, under this circumstance I will eventually forgive myself. A lot of you mentioned a trip to the ER/missing work being more expensive than a week’s worth of food. So true! 2. I decided to keep chancing it and eat the potatoes. Three days in, and no sign of food poisoning, knock on wood! Ultimately I decided against the rice dish. This still hurts. I have a plant-forward diet, so it really stings that I splurged on meat (emotionally, physically, and financially) only to throw it away. But, again, trying to temper my guilt with this. 3. I appreciate the hard divide between those who would and would not eat this. I learned that, comparatively, I’m very much on the lax side of things in my daily life. To each their own! Hope y’all stay happy, healthy, and frugal no matter where you landed on this.

Thank you all!

I am an avid meal prepper. Last night I finished up both my lunch and dinner for the work week. I always let my food cool before putting it away, but accidentally left it out overnight.

I understand the potential health concerns, but the thought of throwing away five lunches and five dinners breaks my frugal heart. I just finished the lunch - say a little prayer for me?

Just wondering - how many of you would chance it?

The lunch I just ate is potatoes, kale, and peas baked in a creamy cheese sauce. Dinner is an “everything but the kitchen sink” casserole and has meat, cheese, rice, and veggies. I don’t usually go this hearty with my meal prep, but I had a lot of (properly stored) leftovers from the Super Bowl and hate wasting food.

EDIT: Thank you all for weighing in on this. Things are about as split as I was before I panic ate the potatoes. Time will tell here what happens to me. Was mainly curious how many people would listen to their frugal voice, which is why I didn’t post this on a more food-specific page.

Not sure if it matters, but I maybe should have been more specific - not everything in this was a week old. Most of the ingredients were fresh. It was just things like the cheese sauce and some of the veggies that were leftover.