Have you ever noticed that eating meals outside is more enjoyable than being indoors? Maybe you enjoy sitting on the patio at your favorite bistro, or you prefer the outdoor seating at your favorite restaurant. You might even prefer eating a barbecued dinner on your patio at night. If this sounds familiar, have you ever wondered why you prefer cooking and eating outside?
It’s one thing to be served a meal outside while visiting a restaurant, but cooking your own meals outside appeals to many. You might think you’d be limited to a charcoal barbecue when cooking outdoors, but with an outdoor kitchen in your yard, you can make just about any meal outside.
Although BBQ food is wonderful, it’s not the end-all-be-all of outdoor cooking. You can actually build a full kitchen right in your backyard, complete with a refrigerator, sink, and an oven if you like to bake.
If you’re someone who prefers being outdoors to enjoy a meal, you’re not alone. In fact, a lot of people prefer both cooking and eating outdoors, and there are some simple reasons for this preference.
1. Fresh air makes you feel good
When you’re cooking and eating outside, you’re exposed to fresh air, and that’s a mood booster all by itself. Nothing beats the smell of fresh, clean air, especially when you catch whiffs of trees and other plants in nature.
According to research, fresh air can improve digestion, increase your energy levels, and boost your mood. It’s important to spend time outdoors because no matter how long you leave a window open in a building, you’re still not getting the amount of fresh air that you would if you stepped outside.
Since eating is already an activity that makes you feel good, it makes sense that eating outside in the fresh air would make you feel wonderful.
2. Cooking outdoors creates a sense of freedom
Feeling a sense of freedom is probably the last thing that would come to mind when you think about why eating outside is enjoyable, but it’s one of the subtler pleasures in life. You may not realize that what you feel outside is a sense of freedom because it’s mostly unconscious.
We spend too much of our time indoors, trapped between walls that can make us feel like we’re too enclosed. In fact, Americans spend 90% of their time indoors, which is why eating outside is so appealing – it’s a welcomed break from feeling confined. We get used to being in small, indoor spaces like our bedrooms, offices, classrooms, and stores.
If you’ve ever noticed how good you feel stepping out of the office or a classroom, that’s the sense of freedom we’re talking about here. It’s subtle, and only lasts for a short time, but it feels amazing.
If you eat all of your meals cooped up in a small building, whether it’s your kitchen or your office, eating outside will give you a sense of freedom from that monotony and enclosure.
3. You have more space outside
When you’re indoors, you have to be mindful of the space you have to move around. If you’re in the kitchen, whether you’re by yourself or with others, space is limited. Not having enough room in the kitchen is actually one of the top complaints people have about their living space.
Outside, things are different. Your movement isn’t limited by the presence of appliances, walls, and furniture, and you aren’t limited by space. If you decide to build an outdoor kitchen, for example, you can get modules that sit side-by-side in a row. The only thing you have to worry about is turning around with a plate of food in hand and not knowing someone’s behind you. Other than that, you’ve got all the space you could ever need to move freely.
4. Sunshine feels good
One of the main reasons people feel good cooking and eating outdoors is because they’re absorbing sunlight, which is being synthesized into vitamin D. Many people are vitamin D deficient, and supplements don’t always help. Many supplements are ineffective, and some are the wrong type of vitamin D in the first place. This is one nutrient that the body really needs to create on its own in order to be effective. The only way to get your body to produce vitamin D naturally is through exposure to sunlight.
What’s the best reason to eat outside?
Although there is some scientific support for the benefits of eating outside, do you really need a reason? Perhaps one of the best reasons to cook and eat outdoors is simply because you enjoy the experience.
