Instead of Eating Out, Eat Outside!

A major monthly expense for families of all sizes, food can put a huge dent in family finances if you’re not careful. In many of today’s families, food funds diverted to eating out have surpassed funds spent on groceries for home-use. Exacerbating the issue, the cost of dining out is up 2.7% (according to restaurant industry news) while the cost of homemade food has dropped 0.5%, ballooning the food budget for those on the restaurant bandwagon. Are you among those struggling not to become ‘food poor?’

Eat Out in Your Own Backyard
Home cooked meals are by far cheaper and healthier than dining out, while the prep and partaking of food make for a great bonding activity – especially when that time is enjoyed in an amazing outdoor kitchen and dining environment. Instead of stretching yourself thin with repeated restaurant purchases, save a ton of money while increasing the quality of your time at home, nutritionally and emotionally building your family unit with the addition of an outdoor kitchen and dining space.

Why Prep & Eat Your Next Meal Outside with the Family?

• Cooking meals is healthier.
  You control portion size and ingredients, freely making substitutions for health and allergies/sensitivities, ensuring the quality of nutrition over high-fat, high-salt/sugar, mass-produced, cookie-cutter restaurant fare.
• Cooking outdoors is a tremendous opportunity to learn new skills & bond.
  Involving kids with cooking helps build and safeguard family traditions, rather than the marketing culture of major food corporations. Hang and chat while prepping for dinner, enjoying the fruits of your efforts as a family. Studies show kids that eat at home are healthier, happier, do better in school and engage in fewer risky behaviors than those who don’t share dinner with family.
• Grilling is a crowd-pleaser.
  New gas grill technology is quick-to-heat, making weeknight grilling a snap. Allowing for the easy customization of dinner plates, vegan or carnivore, attending picky eaters is seriously simplified when grill-side. Grilling takes less prep, involves less cooking paraphernalia, and makes cleanup a snap as well.
• Eating outside reduces stress & boosts immunity.
  Studies clearly demonstrate the stress-busting benefits of being outdoors. Time in nature reduces heart rate, blood pressure, and stress hormone (cortisol) levels, easing tension. Sunlight exposure boosts Vitamin D production, which safeguards your body against cancer, heart attack, stroke, osteoporosis, and depression. These benefits in-turn boost your immunity, helping you ward off colds, flu, and serious chronic health issues.
• Food tastes better in the outdoors.
  When you’re present in an enjoyable outdoor experience, as opposed to zoning-out while under stress, you are more tuned-in to your observations, including the flavor or your outdoor feast.
• Digestion is improved.
  Because stress has a negative impact on digestion, and being outside reduces stress, digestion is markedly better in outdoor environments.  
• Outdoor dining boosts mood and cognitive performance.
  A natural mood booster, emerging yourself in nature while dining, rather than in the digital world, helps you focus, recharging you mentally and emotionally with its awe-inspiring sights.
  

Earn Maximum Return with Minimal Time Investment
Planning ahead makes outdoor cooking and dining a breeze. Shopping bi-monthly for non-perishables and taking advantage of sales, and weekly for perishables, keeps your pantry stocked and on-budget. A weekly menu tacked on the fridge helps you thaw on-time, every time, ensuring fast, 10-30-minute prep - the average time it takes to wait for food and dine in fast food establishments.

Reinvest your restaurant savings, ensuring a trouble-free outdoor cooking and dining experience no matter the weather. Have experiences with your family you wouldn’t trade for a lifetime of dining out.  Uncover the benefits of a fully-functional outdoor kitchen and dining space topped-off with an adjustable aluminum pergola from Denver Pergola Systems today.

This post was originally published at http://www.denverpergolas.com/instead-of-eating-out-eat-outside/