When using small leafy greens such as fresh parsley, baby spinach, watercress, or celery leaves, add the whole leaves with the stems to your green smoothie. Not only does it save you time spent cutting away each small stem, but you also get more minerals, chlorophyll, and fiber simply by eating more of the leafy greens in each smoothie.
If you’re using big leafy greens such as kale, Swiss chard, or collard greens in your smoothie, you can either cut away the large stems or add them to your smoothie. The larger stems contain added minerals and chlorophyll, but they have a really bitter taste.
If you’re new to making smoothies, you may want to avoid using the big stems because that extra bitter taste may turn you off. Over time, as you get used to the bitter taste of greens, you can always add some green stems.
The motor in your blender is also a determining factor in whether you can use thick, leafy stems in your smoothie. Generally speaking, if the motor is 700 watts or greater, the blender should be able to handle blending thicker, larger leafy stems.
If it’s less than 700 watts, those big leaves will stress the motor, and your blender may not survive too long. If your blender motor is less than 700 watts, cut the large stems off and set them aside. If you have a juicer, you can save the stems for juicing later. Otherwise, they can be discarded or put in a compost bin. Be nice to your blender, and your blender will be nice to you!
You can actually use strawberry greens, beet greens, radish greens, and parsley and cilantro stems in your green smoothie instead of throwing them away.