PHOTOGRAPH BY ANDREW TOLSON

Not everyone can pronounce quinoa (it’s keen-wah), and even among those who can, many are asking: is it a seed, a grain, a fruit? But that hasn’t stopped it from blasting into mainstream popularity, going far beyond its former status as a hippie food that vegans ate for its high protein count. Last week on Amazon.ca’s list of bestselling cookbooks, Quinoa 365, written by two Prairie-raised sisters, Patricia Green and Carolyn Hemming, hit No. 3, nudging out Jamie Oliver; in B.C. last week, it was the top-selling book in the province.

Hemming, an avid runner who eats meat, tells Maclean’s that even she is shocked that the word “quinoa” ranked as a top search of the day recently on Yahoo. “It was searched more than the Black-Eyed Peas, the band.” Claiming “it’s not just for vegetarians anymore,” Hemming adds, “People say there are super-foods out there but I have a hard time seeing anything with a nutritional profile like quinoa. It’s got everything from fatty essential acids, protein [as much as milk], complex carbohydrates, fibre, vitamins and minerals. Nothing comes close to quinoa.”

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