A. Cynthia Harriman, director of food and nutrition strategies at the Whole Grains Council <www.wholegrainscouncil.org>, explains, All grains are seeds, but not all seeds are grains. So technically youd say that quinoa, the seed from a plant thats distantly related to beets and spinach, is nonetheless considered a whole grain because its nutritional profile is similar to that of other whole grains and its eaten in similar forms to whole grains.
Three whole grains-quinoa, amaranth and buckwheat-are pseudo-grains, not technically in the grass family Poaceae with the other grains, but counted as whole grains for nutrition and regulatory labeling purposes.