While many people consider cooking outdoors to be something you only do in summer, preparing your meals outside all year has several benefits. Not only can it transform your relationship with food, but it will create variety in your meals and help you become a better chef.
Here’s why you should consider cooking outside on a regular basis, regardless of the season.
1. There are mental health benefits
Whether you choose to cook on a flat top grill, a traditional gas or charcoal barbecue, or an open fire pit, there are numerous mental health benefits to cooking outdoors.
Being in nature, even if it’s just your backyard, can be a calming, stress-free experience. If you’re cooking on an open flame, the sound of the fire crackling can induce relaxation, and the natural scent of the wood can reduce stress and anxiety. Many people enjoy the smell of maple and pine firewood, but regardless of the type of wood, a fire promotes deep relaxation.
Spending time out in the fresh air can also ground your emotions and make you feel more stable. Being in nature improves concentration, focus, and relaxation. You might even find yourself sleeping better after you spend more time outside cooking.
Considering how repetitive cooking can be, when done in a relaxing setting outside, it can be quite a meditative experience.
2. Cooking outside can bring people together for a meal
If you currently live in a household where everyone grabs their food at different times, or takes their meal to the living room to watch television, cooking outside can bring everyone together for a shared meal. In fact, you can share the cooking duties with other people in your household, which will further strengthen your relationships.
When you prepare a meal for everyone to share, people will have a reason to sit down and eat together. Just because you cook outside doesn’t mean you have to eat outside. If it’s cold, bring the food inside once it’s prepared.
3. Vitamin D production
Your body needs to produce Vitamin D to maintain optimal health, and that’s a process initiated by the sun. Many people spend entire days cooped up in a small office or retail building without any direct exposure to the sun, and become deficient in Vitamin D. By the time they get home, the sun is going down or has already set, and they miss out. If this is your situation, when you cook outside, you’ll have a reason to go out in the sun every weekend or on your days off. It’s better than nothing.
If you work from home, you may not venture out of the house as often as you should. When you start cooking outside, you’ll get the sun exposure needed to kickstart vitamin D production that you may have been missing out on because you never had a reason to go outside before. The more often you cook outside, the more Vitamin D your body will produce.
This still works in the winter, but you’ll have to get more sun exposure. Normally, it’s recommended to spend between 8-10 minutes at noon in the sun each day with your arms and legs exposed. However, in winter, if you’re bundled up, you’ll need to spend around two hours in the sun to get the same effect. These are just estimations but are decent guidelines.
4. The house won’t heat up
In warmer months, you may not want to cook inside because it will heat up the whole house. It’s one thing to boil a pot of water, but it’s entirely different to cook a full meal for yourself and others.
When you have the ability to cook outside, whether you get a full outdoor kitchen or just a basic grill, you can make any meal you want outside without increasing the temperature in the house.
5. You’ll have a reason to invite friends over
If you’ve been looking for a good reason to invite your friends over for a party, being in the habit of cooking outside is a great reason. You’ll have your grill set up, maybe a bar or a pizza oven, and you’ll have all the tools you need to host a great party.
Start cooking outdoors for a broader experience
Embracing outdoor cooking year-round is a great way to enjoy nature while bonding with people in your home or friends on the weekend. By adapting your existing cooking techniques and routine to each season, you’ll experience a wide range of benefits from preparing meals in an outdoor environment.
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