Favorite Breakfast - Easy Crockpot Oats

I'm all about easy food prep.  I don't even have kids yet, and I'm always looking for shortcuts to save time because I work 10-11 hour shifts at work and workout everyday.  I stumbled upon my variation of crockpot oats after trying other recipes and using trial and error.  Here's my perfect recipe, which is very versatile because you can stir-in whatever you want the next morning when you are heating them up.

Easy Crockpot Oats (yields 4 servings)

1 cup whole rolled oats (80g)
1/2 cup steel cut oats (80g)
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup powdered stevia or more depending on taste
6.5 cups water*

Measure out your oats (I use a digital scale) and place in a crockpot.  Add your cinnamon and stevia and mix.  Add water and vanilla extract and stir.  Set to cook 8 hours on low overnight.  Bam!  Wake up to a yummy breakfast!

 * Notes on the water - this may vary depending on your crockpot and how you like your oats.  I was using a crockpot that seamed to scorch my oats, so I started adding more water at night, then finally I got a new crockpot that cooked more evenly and has a warm function, so it switches to warm after 8 hours.  This was perfect for me, as I have no more scorched oats.  If your crockpot scorches your oats, then you will need to add more water.  On the other hand, if your oats look too "soupy" in the morning, don't fear.  As the oats cool, they will get thicker, and when you refrigerate them and reheat them I promise they are not soupy at all.

I portion these out into 4 containers in the morning and pop them in the fridge.

Nutrition facts: per serving - Calories 154, Fat 3g, Carbs 28g, Fiber 4.3g, Protein 5g

Reheating instructions (after being refrigerated): add a little bit of water (1-2 tbsp.) and pop the container in the microwave for about 90 seconds.  Stir, then eat.

Stir-in options after reheating: walnuts, pecans, strawberries, blueberries, banana, raisins, pumpkin puree, applesauce.  Don't get bored with your oats, play around with the stir-ins and spices, like try pumpkin pie or apple pie spice :)