For people with celiac disease or a serious gluten intolerance, something as simple as going out for lunch can cause a whole lot of stress. Sure, the bread basket is clearly off-limits, but your server isn’t totally sure whether there are traces of the protein in the soup of the day (wheat is often used as a thickening agent).

Skip the guesswork with Nima. Essentially a portable food lab, Nima is a tiny device that fits in the palm of your hand and tests small samples of food and liquids for the presence of gluten.

To use it, place a food or liquid sample in one of the gadget’s disposable cartridges, and slide it into the sensor. After about two minutes (using chemistry-based detection technology), the device displays either a smiley face emoticon, meaning there’s no gluten present, or a frowning face emoticon, meaning it’s off-limits.

Though it won’t be available until early 2016, you can preorder Nima now at a discounted price ($199 now; $250 later). It's well worth it if it means getting the OK on that insane-looking butternut- squash pizza.