If your new year's resolution is to make food look more beautiful -- or if you are trying to impress someone with an elegant meal, you will appreciate this trick to plate quinoa avocado salad. You will need a round cookie cutter or "ring mold" and some spoons. Here are the simple steps:

• Place the cookie cutter on a plate
• Spoon the quinoa 3/4 of the way to the top
• Add smashed avocado on top of the quinoa
• Pat and smooth with a fork
• Lift the cookie cutter just before presentation

You can use this plating hack for any loose foods that are a little sticky: mashed potatoes, puréed butternut squash, (thick) risotto. If the food sticks to the sides of the cookie cutter, try spraying the cookie cutter with oil beforehand.