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Lauren's List: Foods You Should Never Put In The Microwave

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MIAMI (CBSMiami) -- 'Tis the season of holiday parties and endless leftovers.

Sometimes that Christmas ham is even better the next day but some things just shouldn't be reheated! They might taste bad or even be downright toxic, according to food safety experts.

Today's "Lauren's List" reveals some foods you should never put in the microwave!

  1. Hardboiled eggs: Maybe you made some deviled eggs for you holiday platter and had some leftover hardboiled eggs. Don't put them in the microwave! Shelled or unshelled, the moisture inside the egg could cause extreme steam buildup, and the egg could explode! It may explode and make a mess in the microwave, or it may explode when you take it out, and you could get scalding hot egg all over yourself.
  1. Rice: I reheat rice in the microwave all the time, so I'm a little worried about this one, but the Food Standards Agency says microwaving uncooked rice can lead to food poisoning.  Uncooked rice contains spores of bacteria that can survive being reheated. The spores can multiply at room temperature and cause diarrhea and vomiting.
  1. Leafy greens: Go ahead and throw out your celery, kale or spinach after you've had your fill. The high concentrate of nitrates in leafy greens turns toxic when re-heated. The nitrates become nitrosamines, which are considered a carcinogen.
  1. Chicken: All poultry contains some salmonella contamination, so it's necessary to thoroughly cook chicken to eliminate all present bacteria. Plus, chicken has a very high protein density, and it's important for the proteins to be broken down at the same temperature. When some reheated proteins are broken down more slowly or quickly than others in the same piece, you'll likely get an upset stomach. No one wants to spend the day after a holiday feeling sick because they ate some bad leftovers!

No one wants to spend the day after a holiday feeling sick because they ate some bad leftovers, so tell me what foods you keep out of the microwave at all costs.

Tell me on Facebook page or Twitter.

If you have an idea for a future "Lauren's List", send it to lpastrana@cbs.com.

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