My goodness, I can’t believe Labor Day is already behind us! This is an exciting time for our family as we're settling into our new home and our little one just started at a new school this week! As we transition from summer into fall, busier schedules for your family can make preparing meals a lot more challenging … but don’t you worry, that’s what Zikki and I are here to help with!

In this week’s newsletter, I want to highlight a few of our “must-have” breads that we always have in our freezer to help make meal time a smidge easier amidst all the chaos fall brings! For us, bread is a major part of our diet and the quality of store-bought doesn’t compare to what you can make at home. The trick for us is to spend a day batch baking these treats, freeze them, and defrost them anytime you need to make a quick meal!

The three must-have breads we’ll be highlighting are my famous Classic Pita, Mini Challah Buns and a classic Brioche. All three of these bread options can easily be made in batches and will help any meal or sandwich come together quickly and easily.

Back To School : Bread Staples Edition

Growing up, pita was the ultimate sandwich bread in our family. We had “Pita Havita” for breakfast every morning, which directly translates to warm pita with scrambled eggs. To this day, “Pita Havita” is still one of our go-to breakfasts that can be whipped up in just a few minutes!

If you have kids or picky eaters in the house, another great way we love to enjoy pita is my stuffed PB&J (yes, you read that right)! The explosion of sweet, salty & savory all in one bite is the combination every kid dreams about and is sure to keep the little ones happy in the kitchen! Great for breakfast as you’re heading out the door or for an after-school snack! Have fun with it and consider trying other filling options your family may like.

Second to pita bread are mini challah rolls … one of the most versatile pre-made bread staples you can have on hand. They’re great for sandwiches, sliced in half to make french toast or just toasted with a topping of your choice.

To keep things interesting, choose a few different toppings to top the rolls with so everyone has something to look forward to! My go-to is always sesame seeds but you can’t go wrong with things like chocolate chips, cinnamon sugar or a good everything bagel seasoning! No matter how you choose to use them, a freshly baked mini challah roll will never disappoint.  

Last but certainly not least is the fluffy goodness of a freshly baked brioche loaf. Another staple in our house that we’re constantly using in a variety of different ways - most recently for an epic BLT that I whipped up with my friend, the legendary Brad Leone! We always have brioche bread in the freezer - it’s another one of my go-to sandwich breads (I know, I’m addicted to bread)! You know I love a good tuna melt, another sandwich that’ll never dissappoint on brioche.

New Plants, Who Dis?

Before Zikki and I officially moved from Manhattan to a house in Jersey, the one thing I told her we needed on Day 1 to help make ease the transition was plants ... lots and lots of plants (like a JUNGLE)! There’s nothing we love more than to be surrounded by greenery, bloom and life (especially in fall and winter)!

I recently discovered Rooted, an online plant market with the largest selection of organically grown plants I’ve ever seen! I loved everything about the experience but one of my favorite parts was how easy they make it to quickly find what you’re looking for (e.g. price, size, space requirements, etc.).

After we picked out the plants and pots we wanted, everything was shipped out and arrived at our doorstep within days. Full disclosure, I’m the type of plant owner who’s always afraid I won’t properly care for my plants properly, so thankfully, Rooted provides amazing tools and resources to help ensure we take care of the plants to keep them thriving!

Thanks to Rooted, I was able to make my jungle dreams come true! I’m loving all the cactuses I got too, they are my absolute favorite because they remind me of home!!

Rooted is offering the entire YASSS community 10% OFF any order over $65+ when you use the code "BENGINGI10” at checkout! You must enter the code manually to redeem the offer! I want to see your plants too so remember to tag @bengingi in your stories to show off your new greenery!

YASSS!