Whether you eat two, three, or more meals daily, you might not want to be cooped up in the house while doing so. People traditionally eat at the kitchen table or on the sofa while watching TV. But when the weather is nice, you’ll feel better dining out on the back deck than indoors.
There’s something about eating outside that can enhance your dining experience. Not convinced? Keep reading to learn about four reasons why dining outdoors beats dining indoors. You’ll see, as part of the third reason, how to up the ante if the plan is to host an outdoor pizza party.
- Get Fresh Air
One reason you should eat outdoors is to breathe in fresh air. Fresh air cleans your lungs, reduces your heart rate, improves your mood, enhances your digestion, and boosts your energy levels. So, instead of staying cooped up in your kitchen for meals, take your plate outside, sit on a chair, and get a healthy dose of fresh air as you enjoy your food and conversation with your family.
If you have a patio cover, you can enjoy eating outside regardless of the weather. A large patio umbrella will do the trick if you don’t have a covering over your patio deck.
- Keep Cooking Smells Outside
If you like cooking but don’t want your home to smell like what you’ve been cooking, the answer is to prepare and eat your meals outdoors. Something like fish or curry-based dishes can smell great and taste even better, but that doesn’t mean you want to smell it while watching TV.
Cooking outside means you can have a more scent-neutral home, benefiting people with allergies triggered by scents. In fact, if someone with a food allergy smells one of the foods that usually trigger their allergy, their brain might register a potential problem. Any anxiety experienced by such a scenario could translate to physical symptoms like a faster heart rate.
- Entertain More People
Do you like to entertain? Unless you have a huge kitchen, inviting as many people as you’d like might be hard. One option is to use the square footage that is your back deck or backyard, set up some tables and chairs, and move the party outdoors. You’ll have more space by doing so.
If you want to host a pizza party, consider cooking the pizzas in an outdoor pizza oven. According to one source, 350 slices of pizza are consumed in the U.S. every second. Yes, every second. So, serving piping-hot pizzas loaded with delicious toppings is bound to be a crowd-pleaser.
- Get Social
It wasn’t that long ago that people were barred from holding large gatherings and standing too close together. Many people experienced isolation due to policies to stem the spread of COVID-19.
Now that those bans have been lifted, you can spend time with people you care about. Cooking outdoors naturally lends itself to social opportunities. You can cook together, eat together, and spend time together. It’ll be better than meeting at a restaurant since the venue will be familiar.
Your outdoor living space will be a more comfortable environment. Whether with family or friends, you can enjoy the social interactions necessary for good mental health.
These are some reasons it makes sense to enjoy your meals inside beyond the walls of your indoor kitchen. While there’s nothing wrong with eating inside, you’ll get plenty of benefits from eating outdoors.
So, you’ll want to, at the very least, eat outside on occasion. You can use a BBQ grill, outdoor pizza oven, Dutch oven, and other things for cooking your food. You’ll probably enjoy eating outside so much that you’ll make it a habit if the weather is conducive to doing so.
