17 Foods You Should Never Eat While Sitting Outside – Here’s Why!

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It is always a great experience to eat a meal with fresh air and sun and natural environment. Whether you’re preparing food to take to the park, to cook in your own backyard, or even if you just intend to grab a bite on your balcony, there are some types of food that should definitely be avoided.

Not only can they invite bugs and birds into your home, but some ripen faster than you’d imagine or have textures that just don’t work well for outdoor dining. Well, before you take that basket out or that table setting out, allow me to give you a heads up on the foods that are just plain unfit to be enjoyed outdoors.

Creamy Dishes

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Potato salad, coleslaws, or any dish that has a base of cream is a recipe for disaster during warm weather. Some of the Mayo-based dishes can go bad very quickly if exposed to the sun, and this attracts bacteria that leads to sickness. If you can’t resist, try keeping it on ice or choose an oil based salad instead.

Sushi

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Sushi lovers, beware! It is wrong to eat raw fish and be out doors. Sushi can spoil if not stored properly, and if you have sushi that is not refrigerated, you might end up with a terrible meal. Do not eat sushi when the environment is hot.

Ice Cream

Taking a walk with an ice cream on a beautiful day is delightful until the ice cream turns into a gooey puddle. Not only that, it’ll be almost impossible to keep your food safe from ants and flies. If you want something that lasts longer you could go for a popsicle or an ice pop.

French Fries and Fried Foods

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Hot and crisp french fries and fried snacks are classic American foods. Unfortunately, if you’re eating outdoors, the breeze can cool them down faster than you’d like — soggy, limp fries. Cold fries just aren’t the same. And if you’re eating by the shore, not to mention, fried foods can attract hungry seagulls and other birds!

Honey and Jam

Honey and jam are delicious sticky foods, but they’re a bee, wasp or ant magnet. A spoonful of jam on a piece of bread is harmless enough until you’re outside, then it won’t be long before bugs are swarming to get a taste. These are best kept indoors unless you’re ready for an impromptu picnic with all the neighborhood insects.

Barbecue Ribs and Wings

Ribs, wings, saucy food all taste great, but you can get messier than you planned for while eating them outside. Fly attractant sauce covered hands and faces can be difficult to clean up if you don’t have easy access to a sink. Napkins outside also tend to blow away, and you’re stuck in a sticky situation, literally.

Chocolate

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Chocolate and the outdoors? Not the best match. It melts nearly instantly and is sticky and difficult to remove from hands and garments as well as any furniture that it may have come into contact with. Stick to chocolates that are less likely to melt or better still, set them aside for an indoor delight.

Salmon

Fish is delicious but its smell attracts flies and some animals. Fish also does not last long in warm conditions: they get spoilt easily. Do not eat seafood in the car or if the climate is too hot.

Egg-Based Food

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Any dish containing egg such as deviled eggs, egg salad or any recipe that has eggs will take only about an hour to go bad under the sun. Eggs allow bacteria to grow quickly when exposed to heat so if you want to take that chance, then its best to leave them indoors or in a cooler with ice.

Avocado or Guacamole

Avocados turn brown very fast, and one may easily imagine what happens to guacamole under the sun’s rays. Not only does it lose its appetizing coloration but also it spoils very fast and may contain bacteria.

Barbecue Sauces and Syrups

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Most people love their barbecue sauces to be sweet and sticky, but they do not know that these are the things that attract insects. Choose dry rubs or marinating rather than sauces for grilling if you don’t want the bugs to spoil your meal.

Canned Meats

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Most canned food, for example, tuna or chicken may become a health risk when eaten after being left for a while in a salad. They also tend to attract flies and other insects. Use freshly cooked meat or other items that will not be easily affected by moisture.

Bread With Sweet Fillings

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Sandwiches containing jam, honey or any other spread with sugar are a bug magnet. They are delicious all right but just take it outside and you will be chasing after wasps and ants. In case you’re looking for a safer route, you might want to go for savory spreads instead.

Milk-Based Coffees

That morning latte may not seem like a big deal but milk and cream do not fair well under the sun. They can clump and go rancid rather fast, so your coffee becomes a bit too exotic for your taste buds. Plain black coffee or a coffee made without milk is less risky.

Sugary Sodas

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The sugar and moisture content of soda is an invitation to bees, wasps, and flies. Besides, inviting bugs, soda loses its fizz under the sun and becomes a less appealing beverage. It would be wise to order water or any other non-sweet beverage.

Watermelon

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Watermelon can look like a perfect snack for a picnic – it’s juicy, it cools you down, and it is easy to eat. But that sugary juice can attract a lot of insects, so if you really want watermelon, keep it covered, or bring along wipes to keep sticky hands bug-free.

Cheese

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Cheese does not go well during warm weather conditions. Most cheeses will sweat, melt or even go rancid if left uncovered for a long time. If you must take cheese, get a hard one because they do not melt easily when the weather is hot.

Disclaimer: This list is solely the author’s opinion based on research and publicly available information.