Ugghh why do I do this to myself!!

[EvilCookie]

Urg, I've been freaking so much about FP in the last couple of weeks.
It's been pretty hot here and I've been pretty busy shuttling my son around to activities and such and in between we've been spending lots of time outside in the nice weather. What this means is we're in the car, out and about all day and end up grabbing food to go or on the way. I've been very careful with DS of course, but for myself, I'll often take something like a sandwich from home, or pick something up on the way when I can but then I'm either not hungry yet or can't get to it for a while, and then by the time I'm finally ready to eat it it's been sitting in the hot car for 3-4-5 hours and I'm starving and there's nothing else around to eat. So I end up eating some of it, even though I know I shouldn't, and then freaking out about FP for the rest of the night, and I have IBS too so of course my stomach chooses these nights to go nuts on its own while I make myself feel worse by googling and reading FDA guidelines of no more than two hours for foods at room temp yada yada. And I blame myself for eating it in the first place. I can't tell you how many times I've convinced myself I gave myself FP, thank god it's never actually been the case but every time I think this is it.

Today it's some (delicious!) Asian stir fry on brown rice that I shared with DS, and then it sat in the car while we were in the park and I brought it home and foolishly took a couple more bites before I realized it's been 4.5 hours since I bought it. And then I remembered about that toxin in rice that doesn't get killed by cooking and I started reading about it, and now of course my stomach is rumbly, and I'm flipping out. Two days before it was a sandwich that was out for almost 5 hours, where I tossed out the meat but had the bread and cheese but still worried the cheese might've gotten contaminated by the meat...and before that it was smoked salmon that I bought and couldn't get home for a few hours even though it sat in an insulated bag...and before that, egg salad that I made and had in the fridge for 4 days...never ends.

I tend to be very much "if in doubt throw it out" but there are still times when I eat it THINKING it's okay and then start freaking after the fact. And especially in the summer, with the picnics and potlucks and heat and being out all day, it's hard to plan it properly. It's easy if it's way beyond what's considered safe, but I always end up with this food in the middle zone, where it's just at the border (restaurant guidelines say 4 hours) - so what does it mean, is it still safe at 4 hours? 4 hours 15 minutes? What about 3.5 hours on a warm day? What about the type of food? etc etc, I've googled food safety guidelines and FP so much I could write the damn things but I still feel I never have a cut-and-clear rule about the specific food I have.

Anyone else like that? What food safety rules do you generally follow for this type of stuff? Oh and please tell me I won't die from the rice

[mdgirl1977]

you won't die from rice. I would just be more careful with dairy, meat and cheese . can you throw Luna bars and peanuts or crackers in your bag? when I'm running around w my 7 to son I just throw a box if wheat thins and a energy bar in my purse.

[Dairyfreelife]

can you use a cooler? You can freeze juice boxes, use ice packs, etc. and then you won't have to worry about hot sandwiches. I also agree with mdgirl's suggestions of crackers and energy bars and I'd add fruit snacks or even whole fruit like apples and oranges/tangerines that will fill you up and are good for you.