Okay so I'm not actually bipolar, I'm mood disorder NOS, borderline personality, and major depressive. But I do get manic but I spend most of my time on the lower end.

With that said I want to say what I have found SO helpful! When I am manic I buy way too many groceries, I get into a crazy cooking mood in which I want to try all of these new recipes, and this is usually when I also would binge. When I'm depressed I generally don't want to do anything that takes work so if it's microwavable or a frozen pizza type thing then I'm good to go...and I'll binge on the junk stuff too.

I've learned to combine the two into healthy options. When I'm manic I make sure all of my new recipes are healthy, portion controlled, and then I freeze them. When I'm depressed I simply have to grab one out of the freezer, pop in the microwave and then I have healthy food prepared that's not high in sodium and artificial crap like most you find at the store.

Right now I have spinach quiche and spinach lasagna rolls in the freezer along with cupcakes. Yes, cupcakes! Mix a box of cake mix with unsweetened apple sauce and water (I don't know the amounts off hand but google will) and then freeze the batter in preportioned cupcake tins (lining them with cupcake paper helps but you have to remove the paper after it's frozen). Then I put them in a freezer bag and when I want a cupcake I take one out of the freezer, pop it in the microwave for 1 minute and cooks right up, fluffy and everything. I keep a can of whipped butter cream frosting in the fridge. 1 tbs is 50 cals but the cupcake is around 85 so it's only 125 for a whole cupcake.

Hi there!

So... this is a really good idea and I don't know why I didn't think about it before! When I get into my manic moods (I have manic depression with some intense lows; Also, someone with BPD and some intense anxiety problems) I often just become really jittery and run around not knowing what to do with myself.

This is definitely more productive than that! Haha, I'm going to have to look up some recipes and put them on my white board (I keep it for appointments and important stuff!) so I can make them when I'm running around. I love to cook when I feel like doing things!

Thanks for the advice! Totally gonna try!
Kimie!

I'm also focusing on preparing ahead for high/low functioning days, with homemade (and some purchased) freezer meals.

I'm not bipolar, but I'm on disability for an assortment of health issues. My autoimmune issues, fibromyalgia, IBS, and PMDD flare sporadically creating up/down, functional/nonfunctional patterns that are a bit like bipolar phases. When I feel lousy, I do not want to cook and crave comfort food (especially when dealing with severe menstrual cramps or fibro fog - when it can actually be dangerous for me to cook). And when I feel decent, I want to cram in every chore, task, or entertainment that I've missed during flare down time.

Occasionally I have truly irrational (and scary) manic episodes, but mostly only right before or between severe storms. For some reason, I will suddenly feel superhuman, but it will last only 30 to 90 minutes, followed by a severe crash when the storm hits.

If I suddenly feel amazing or feel suddenly crappy, hubby will immediately check the weather channel.

Normally though my ups and downs aren't that extreme. I've also learned (the hard way) that the superhero feeling is an illusion, but every once in a while I will hurt myself trying to do more than I should because I tempoarily felt invinceable).

I've been doing this for years because I may have time here and there, but not enough time to cook something every single day. It mostly started as soon as my daughter got on solids. I was making and freezing baby food, so I thought I might as well do it for myself.

Now I just do it all the time. I never waste food, I always have lunch and dinner selections for us all, and I save so much time and money.

It's amazing how the little tricks can help!