Healthy eating out in Atlanta: Nutrition facts at your fingertips

Well, that depends. Are you looking for a burger or pizza? Are you a diabetic or just dieting to lose five pounds?

Providing choices within categories and putting them into perspective is what Usable Health kiosks aim to do for restaurant diners with an eye on their diet and health. Say you were at Chick-fil-A and you were watching your sodium intake. Choose the chicken sandwich and the kiosk would reveal you can save 250 milligrams of sodium by swapping the fried chicken sandwich for the char grilled one.

Right now, Atlanta based Usable Health has interactive kiosks placed in the Midtown location of Atlanta restaurant chain Tin Drum.

“People are loving the experience at Tin Drum and we’re tracking over 150 individual orders per day, ” said Chad Bonner, co-founder of Usable Health.

The health-based menu ordering service developed by Georgia Tech researchers prompts customers to select personal health goals including management of diabetes, blood pressure or weight. Then the kiosk suggests a customized menu. Bonner predicts this kind of technological support of menu guidance will be more in demand as regulations take effect requiring restaurants, airport food outlets and even vending machines to provide nutrition information.

“We’re really excited about taking this to the next step of personalization, including more detailed health information and food preferences,” Bonner said.

Users can sign up on usablehealth.com to create a profile and be a part of the company’s consumer research.

As we wait for more technology to help translate nutrition numbers into healthy menu choices, here are some word clues to help you decode common menu terms and cut calories.

Fat by any other name

Aioli -- mayonnaise with garlic

Au Gratin -- topped with cheese, butter and breadcrumbs

Beurre -- butter’s French name

Bisque -- most often a cream based soup

Béarnaise -- watch the “-aise,” which indicates egg based mayonnaise

Crispy -- code word for fried

Crusted, encrusted -- coated with nuts, breadcrumbs or potato, pan fried until crispy

Lean lingo

Au jus -- pan juices, often reduced with no fat added

Braised -- slow cooked to tenderize meats or fish, often little added fat

Broth -- fragrant water based sauce with infused flavors such as chicken or lemongrass

Coulis -- often a no-fat-added puree of vegetables or fruit

Primavera -- Italian for “spring”; indicates vegetables are major ingredient

Provencale -- South-of-France style sauce with tomato and other vegetables

Variable verbs

Grilled -- watch out for butter or oil slathered on during grilling

Roasted -- watch out for extra fat used in roasting, such as "butter basted"

Poached -- not always in water, watch out for poached in oil or butter

Sautéed -- butter or oil are used, but chefs can limit amount if asked

Steamed -- watch out for butter or oil added after the steaming