Healthy Food in Hungary and Czech Republic?

happycow.net/europe is a good resource.

I would not be concerned. It seems to me that there is more unhealthy food here in the US than in Hungary or the Czech Republic. You see many more fat people here than there. You can always choose something which is not fried. The bigger the city the more options and ethnic cuisine.

Edeni Vegan vegetarian restaurant: Iskola Utca 31 (1011) (at corner of Gyorskocsi utca, 1 block from Batthány tér bus and metro station, 1 blk from the Danube) As vegetarians, we were challenged in Eastern Europe as it is a meat and potatoes type of place. However, Edeni Vegan restaurant was not too far from our B&B on the Buda side. It is cafeteria style, just point and they give you good portions. We had vegan Hungarian goulash one night. Out of 4 nights there, we ate there 3 times. I highly recommend it.

Don't worry about the food. I travel every year to Czech Republic eating glutten free and no mammals with very little issue any town I'm in. Czechs are becoming more concerned about their health and eating more veggies and salads. You will see there are also fish items on many menus as well. And you can substitute rice for potatoes in some places. I would say Hungary would be no problem either. There are many nice places to eat in Budapest.
RS has a menu translator in his book to help you out with your choices. Make sure to avoid items that say smažený (fried).

Lots of good food in both; I found plenty of great soups and goulashes (not one is the same, really). I took a liking to the Hungarian version of a gnocchi. Some of the dishes I ate in both countries were also bean based. I cannot eat any fried foods AT ALL and I had no problems finding alternatives. In Eger, at the entrance to the wine cellar valley, is a very nice inn with a great restaurant: Kulacs Csarda Panzio. I had several meals there, as I was based in the Panzio.... it made for an easy roll-down-the-hill-after-too-much-wine end for each evening, LOL!

FWIW, I've spent over a week in Prague over 2 trips, and can't conjure up a single fried food item...Meat-and-potatoes (and beer!) - oh, yea, but nothing fried crossed my path. And definitely nothing deep-fried...Hmmm...Perhaps the occasional pan-fried schnitzel-type foods... Sally forth, and enjoy!

Eileen is right - very little fried foods there other than French fries maybe. Lots of meat, dumplings and potatoes though. Very little vegetables to be found in standard restaurants and menus. But if you look some you'll find them.

Thanks so much to all of you for your replies!

If you're a vegetarian, your options will be limited. But if you just want something that isn't artery clogging, I found that many restaurants in Prague offer soups and salads that won't completely derail a diet. It's not all pork knuckles and dumplings (although you'll see a lot of that stuff).

Hi There-I was in Prague for a week in December, I am a vegetarian, and had the MOST delicious food everywhere. I was able to eat well, and just enjoy what Prague had to
offer. Don't miss out on the cultural culinary aspect of your trip-the US has more fast-food unhealthy fare than you will ever see there. And don't forget desserts-not so sugar laden as we have, and served very proudly. Enjoy-these trips offer some of the best times of our lives!

Plenty of healthy food in Prague and Budapest. I don;t remember much fried food. In Budapest I fondly remembered the terriffic Soul Cafe http://www.soulcafe.hu/
which had so many great dishes we enjoyed it twice and wish it were closer to home instead of an RS recommended area. It was superb. There is always Italian food in the great pizzerias in Prague for a quick bite. It was sad to discover that dumplings in Prague were not the light fluffy creations I'm used to..