For this National Nutrition Month, we’re sharing four easy ways to incorporate better nutrition into your busy life.

These tips come from Dalila Lopez, director of the health education department, which helps Venice Family Clinic’s patients better understand and manage their conditions, such as diabetes, obesity or high blood pressure, as well as the impact of diet and exercise on their lives.

From keeping healthy snacks on hand to how to order when dining out, here are Lopez’s tips for making more healthful food choices:

1. Pack veggies to go

   Not only will this help you get to your recommended daily intake of fruits and vegetables, but it will also help you avoid buying less healthy options. Take an apple or some carrot sticks with you when you’re on-the-go so you already have something healthy to eat when you start to get hungry.

2. Pack your lunch as often as you can

   By bringing your lunch with you to work, or even on a busy day out, you can save time and money. When you bring your lunch to work, there is no waiting in lines for your meal or spending extra dollars on food delivery – and you can make sure you have healthy and fresh options that you know you’ll love.

3. Be mindful of side orders when eating out

   Another way to incorporate better nutrition into your busy life is to choose more fruits and vegetables as sides when eating out. A lot of times, our options for sides are fries or chips, which aren’t good for us when we eat them too often. You can bring more balance and nutrition into your meals by ordering a side salad, low-sodium vegetable soup or steamed vegetables instead.

4. Eat frozen fruits and vegetables

   Keeping frozen fruits and veggies in your freezer makes it easy to keep nutritious options on hand and reduce food waste. Frozen fruits and vegetables are great options because they are frozen at the peak of their nutrition, and they maintain those great nutrients from the farm to your freezer. They’re also usually cut and ready to use, which makes them even easier to reach for on a busy day.

And remember: Give it time. If you’re trying to transition to a more nutritious lifestyle, it may take time for you to establish these habits or for your taste buds to adjust to new foods. Be patient, and don’t give up. You can do it!