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Your gf makes a fair point, since 2 hours left out at room temp is the FDA recommended limit.
From my experience so far (3x, failed L3 once), I just brought my own lunchbox with some of these items over the years that seem to have lower risks and can be left out longer (not meat based) – boiled eggs for protein (whole, not cut yet), some bread (plain or, e.g. PB&J sandwich), veg salad, cold pasta salad (refrigerated beforehand) etc.