Nutritious yet Delicious Family Meals , Salads, and More

In those days, Tex-Mex dining meant just a few familiar names—El Fenix and El Chico—and Six Flags had an El Chico right inside the park. An enchilada plate cost about four dollars, which was real money when I was earning $1.25 an hour, or $1.35 after I was promoted to ride foreman. So the restaurant offered an employee-only special called the Cowboy Plate. It was simple: Mexican fried rice topped with chili con carne, melted cheese, and onions. No sides. No extras. Just two dollars. It was filling, affordable, and deeply satisfying—and even now, that combination still feels like comfort on a plate.

Comfort food means different things to different people. Sometimes we reach for it because it tastes good, because fat and carbs light up our brains. Sometimes we eat because we’re stressed, bored, or just worn down by the day. But sometimes food comforts us for a deeper reason. The taste, the smell, and the look of a dish can pull us back to an earlier time in life—to our mother’s kitchen, or a favorite grandmother or aunt who cooked with care and love.

For me, those four summers working at Six Flags were a joyful and formative time. I was nearing graduation, immersed in teenage life, friendships, and the energy, optimism, and promise of the late 1960s. It was a hopeful time, full of possibility, and it’s one of the periods I would travel back to if I could. That simple Cowboy Plate isn’t just food—it’s a doorway back to that feeling.

Strong emotional experiences are essential for long-term memory. That’s true for all of us, but it is especially true for special-needs youth, for whom memory can be fragile and fleeting. Ask some of these kids on Monday what they did over the weekend, or what we studied yesterday or last week, and “I don’t know” is often the answer. But when you mention a place they have actually been—Six Flags, a field trip, or another immersive experience they personally lived—you can watch their faces come alive as detailed memories surface. It isn’t the idea of the place that excites them; it is the remembered experience itself. Emotion, grounded in lived experience, is what anchors memory.

One day, those same emotional centers will light up again when they remember their mom’s or grandma’s cooking. That is why these recipes matter to me. Make my heart-healthy versions of comfort food. Share them. Cook them with care. Give your children those precious memories—the ones tied to warmth, love, and time together—so that years from now, a familiar taste or smell will still make them feel safe, happy, and deeply loved.