Cannabis Life Network’s resident chef, Cody Lindsay, is proud to host the 2nd annual Veteran’s Dinner at Artisan Bistro in beautiful Victoria, BC on Oct.30.
The dinner is a FREE 3-course meal for Canadian Veterans and tickets are going fast, so make sure to get yours while they’re still available!
As a veteran himself, Cody, also known as the Wellness Soldier, created this dinner as a chance to show veterans that healthy eating can also be delicious while giving veterans a space where they can socialize with other veterans.
We had a chance to talk to Cody about what inspired this event, cooking with cannabis, helping his fellow veterans, and his fave recipes. To read about last year’s event, please click here.
What inspired you to create the Veteran’s Dinner event?
I wanted a way to tell Veterans about what we are doing through thewellnesssoldier.com with healthy living & cannabis information. Since I’m a Chef and Veteran, I realized “food is morale”, and what better way to showcase what we are doing than a free 3 course meal? We also wanted to help attendees see what our sponsors are doing to help as well.
What is the main takeaway you want your fellow veterans to have after this dinner?
Above all else, have a good time!! As well as gaining an understanding of the areas of help we are focused on:
- Healthy Eating and Drinking
- Medical Cannabis
- Fitness
- Meditation
Together with what our sponsors do to help Veterans, the night will feature talks from Spartan Wellness, Tilray, and Light on PTSD because the dinner is all about helping Veterans on their road to recovery and a new normal.
What kind of prizes and giveaways can attendees look forward to potentially winning?
We have some great prizes to give away from a rolling tray from Cannador, a bluetooth speaker from Custom Home Interiors, and a Pax 2 from Emblem Cannabis, and we are still talking to great companies like AHLOT and Brass & Unity. We’re thankful for all the companies that have supported us so far!!
We will also be giving everyone that attends a give away/take home bag with all the sponsor information, pamphlets, swag, pens, and stuff like that. There will be a lot of information being talked about that night and we just wanted a way for Vets to be able to decompress and read on their own will at home.
If anyone reading this would like to sponsor a Veteran, send out a raffle prize, or give information to put in our give away bags please email thewellnesssoldier@gmail.com
As a veteran, how has medical cannabis helped you?
My brain runs a mile a minute from my 2 tours of duty with the Canadian Forces outside the country. I’m always trying to plot and plan my next 15 moves while not even focusing on my first move, so medical cannabis allows my brain to relax enough that I can focus on one thing at a time.
Would you recommend medical cannabis to other veterans?
YES, 100%. Especially to try, it does not interfere with other medications and will help them sleep a restful night’s sleep. Sleep is something that most Veterans have a problem with alongside PTSD and pain problems.
As Cannabis Life Network’s resident chef, what got you into cooking with cannabis?
As I started thewellnesssoldier.com I got a lot of inquiries from people and Veterans asking “How do I cook with cannabis?” Even companies came to me asking to help their patients learn how to cook with cannabis.
So we started creating healthy & delicious cannabis recipes through our website and our own self published cannabis cookbook, and we began doing live cooking demos at Lift Expo and other major expos throughout the country.
We’ve also been featured in major magazines and websites from Cannabis Life Network, Lift, Leafly, Gusto TV, Flare Magazine and more. We have created recipe cards for Karma Cup, Peace Naturals, National Access Cannabis, and Organigram.
You may also see some cooking videos coming out with Cannabis Life Network in the near future.
What is your favourite cannabis-infused recipe and why?
Some of my favourite recipes are pesto’s, guacamole, pico de gallo/salsa, salad dressings and horseradish cream sauce. I love cooking up a fat steak and slathering my horseradish cream sauce on!!
Are there any other plans or events that you’d like to tell us about?
We are continuing our cannabis cooking classes at NAC (National Access Cannabis) in Victoria, next one is Oct.6, 2017. We will also be doing live cannabis cooking demonstrations at Lift Expo Vancouver.
