Close your eyes and imagine the smoky smell of delicious BBQ food sizzling away above flickering flames. Your friends and family are seated around the firepit, chatting and enjoying each other’s company, and making memories that will last a lifetime. There are few experiences that bring the same level of happiness and joy – but did you know that alfresco cooking and dining has many other fantastic benefits, too?! Keep reading to find out more…
Top 5 Benefits of Alfresco Cooking
1) Cooking outdoors is a natural mood booster
When you’re spending time cooking outdoors, you’re breathing in refreshing and revitalising fresh air. This means you’re taking in more oxygen than you would if you were indoors, which improves your mood and focus. As well as this, your body is constantly absorbing vitamin D from the sunlight, which is an important nutrient to keep bones, muscles, and teeth healthy. Vitamin D helps maintain the levels of adrenaline, serotonin, and dopamine in your body, helping to boost your overall mood.
2) It’s healthier than cooking indoors
Did you know that preparing and cooking food outdoors over open flames can help to prevent food poisoning, lower your cholesterol, and reduce the risk of air pollution and certain carcinogens in your food? Cooking indoors can have hidden risks of indoor air pollution from heating oil, fat, and other ingredients, especially in kitchens with poor ventilation. Cooking outdoors can reduce this risk since the air disperses more easily.
3) Food cooked outdoors tastes better
You may have noticed that when you cook outdoors, the flavours, tastes and smells become more intense. Food flavour can be affected by air temperature and moisture, and the smell of the outdoors heightens your senses and allows you to really relish the delicious taste of your food.
4) You can cook outdoors all year round (although summer is generally preferable!)
Cooking outdoors can be done all year round, come rain or shine. Of course, it may be more pleasant in the summer months when the sun sets late at night and the weather is mild, but the brave of heart may take on the challenge of cooking outdoors in any weather! BBQs can even be used as a heat source on chillier evenings, which is a more eco friendly option than a conventional patio heater.
5) It’s a relaxing social experience
Cooking outdoors is a great way to gather your loved ones together and enjoy a relaxing, convivial atmosphere. It can help you feel more connected and create new memories, both of which are important for mental health and wellbeing. It can also be good for physical health, as helping out with the cooking or taking part in outdoor games allow you to stay active.
Top 5 Benefits of Alfresco Dining
1) Eat whilst enjoying the fresh air
Eating outdoors can have fantastic health benefits in comparison to staying indoors and breathing in stale, recycled air. The more time you spend outdoors, the healthier you are, so naturally eating outdoors is a great opportunity to stay fit and healthy. It’s particularly important if you’re used to being indoors a lot, for example if you have a 9-5 office job or you spend lots of time in the same room.
2) Being surrounded by nature is naturally soothing
Have you ever noticed that introducing a small addition of nature to your surroundings, like a potted plant, can have soothing effects on your physical and mental health? It’s no wonder that eating in an environment where you’re totally surrounded by nature can be so beneficial to your health. As well as helping to control your blood pressure and heart rate, it can also decrease the level of stress hormones and ease muscle tension!
3) You’ll be eating in a relaxed setting
Eating in an outdoor setting often offers amazing views. You’re surrounded by luscious green grass, vibrant flowers, and incredible textures and smells, all of which are far more relaxing and enjoyable than being cooped up inside. You’ll feel more relaxed and be able to enjoy a tasty, healthy meal that little bit more.
4) Your body will function better
Dining outdoors can help you to destress, and everything in your body works better when you’re stress-free! When you’re relaxed, your body is able to correctly release the HCl enzyme into your stomach, which helps you break down your food and kills all harmful pathogens. It also aids your body in absorbing all the correct nutrients, instead of passing them without digesting properly.
5) You will sleep better
Dining outdoors can help to improve your quality of sleep after you’ve eaten. The fresh air around you and the laid-back atmosphere will help your mind and body to feel rejuvenated, and your body can seamlessly ease into its bedtime routine.
Alfresco Cooking & Dining at The Beeches Glamping
Searching for a luxury glamping site surrounded by nature, where you can cook and eat outdoors to your heart’s content? Here at The Beeches Glamping, we have four luxury glamping pods which each boast their own private outdoor area, complete with a fire pit and BBQ grill plus comfortable outdoor seating and tables. Take in the sights and sounds of Cornwall by day, before retreating to your luxury glamping pod and cooking some delicious food over the campfire. What could be better?!
We also have a sheltered BBQ hut which can be hired out for the evening for just £10. The area seats up to 10 people, making it perfect for alfresco dining with your friends or family in all weathers, and even features a pizza oven which you can put on top of the BBQ grill to cook your own wood-fired pizzas!
If you don’t want the hassle of shopping for BBQ food yourself, you can purchase one of our gorgeous BBQ hampers with meat sourced from our local butchers. Delivered straight to your fridge, the hampers cost just £23 for two people or £35 for a family, and contains sausages, beef burgers, chicken kebabs, burger buns, and a bottle of ketchup.
Book your alfresco dining escape at The Beeches Glamping today!