When we are transitioning away from refined and industrially processed foods, it is not always easy at first to find appropriate alternatives that will be easy, quick and satisfying. For example, while a whole meal salad is one of the healthiest meals we should be having daily, most people will require some kind of a dressing to eat it with, so that they can enjoy it while their tastebuds adjust, and make it a sustainable dietary habit.

The optimal way to “dress our meals” is of course to make our own, homemade sauces and dressings. You can learn how to do this quickly and easily using my 5-Step Sauce Template video. However, if you cannot do that and need to rely on store-bought, processed dressings for any reason, it is good to know that even there, we can make better choices. There are the worst of the worst dressings that are full of refined ingredients, including oils and sugars, genetically modified ingredients, dairy or other animal ingredients, preservatives and additives. And there are the best of the processed dressing options, like Organicville Dressings, which I will share with you about in this review article.

About Organicville Dressings

Organicville is a health-conscious company that offers various products. Aside from dressings, they offer a variety of sauces and other condiments, drinks and even complete meals. When it comes to the dressings, they currently offer 11 different, which are all USDA certified organic, gluten free, dairy free, vegan, and use agave nectar as a sweetener. The company’s mission “is to create exceptional organic products that your whole family can enjoy.”

My Experience with Organicville Dressings

While I went vegetarian in 2007, throughout 2008 I was transitioning to a whole food, least processed, plant-based diet. During this time I was learning everything I could about all products in the grocery store, and which would be worthy of keeping in my diet, and which wouldn’t. During this time I learned about Organicville and decided to try one of their dressings. I chose the Orange Cranberry flavor, which is no longer available at the time of writing the update to this post, which I originally wrote in 2008. I imagine this variety was removed, as it wasn’t the greatest tasting. Even though I love fruity flavors, something about the combination of ingredients in this dressing just didn’t fuse well. The flavor was just too sour and bitter tasting for me. Aside from the flavor, however, the ingredients were definitely impressive, especially as compared to the conventional dressings.

By 2009 I was fully relying on my own homemade dressings, and so I never did go back to try other flavors, but again with 11 different ones available, I am sure there is something there to please everyone’s preferences. The 11 flavors currently available are as follows:

  • Coleslaw Organic Dressing
  • Thousand Island Dressing
  • Olive Oil & Balsamic Organic Vinaigrette
  • Sun Dried Tomato & Garlic Organic Vinaigrette
  • Miso Ginger Organic Vinaigrette
  • Dijon Organic Vinaigrette
  • Pomegranate Organic Vinaigrette
  • Sesame Tamari Organic Vinaigrette
  • Herbs De Provence Organic Vinaigrette
  • Ranch Organic Dressing
  • French Organic Dressing

Ingredients & Nutrition Profile

The ingredients of the Orange Cranberry dressing were as follows:

  • Filtered Water
  • Expeller Pressed Organic Soybean Oil
  • Organic Cider Vinegar
  • Organic Agave Nectar
  • Organic Ginger Puree
  • Concentrated Organic Orange Juice
  • Concentrated Organic Cranberry Juice
  • Salt
  • Organic Orange Peel
  • Organic Black Pepper
  • Organic Oregano
  • Organic Rosemary Extract
  • Xanthan Gum

Nutrition per 30mL (2 TBSP)

  • 100 Calories
  • 10g Fat (1.5g Saturated Fat, 0 Trans Fat)
  • 0g Cholesterol
  • 190mg Sodium
  • 3g Carbohydrate (3g Sugar)
  • 0g Protein
  • 6% Vitamin C

As you can see, the ingredients focus on real food ingredients, and do not include the many harmful additives and preservatives that other dressings do, but still leave lots to be desired. Especially so, if you are conscious of not consuming soybean oil, or any oils for that matter, as these are not whole foods, but processed isolates. The same goes for any processed juices.

We also have to be mindful that dressings like this will also be higher on the sodium content, with this one having about double the ideal amount, as compared to the caloric content.

Packaging

You can get these dressings in 236mL / 8oz glass bottles, which is nice, as glass is a health-conscious packaging and can be easily reused or recycled.

Price & Availability

  • Around $3.00 – $4.00 CAD/USD at supermarkets, health food stores and online stores

Summary

In conclusion, these dressings are good in that they:

  • use certified organic ingredients
  • are vegan
  • have no trans fats
  • have low saturated fats
  • are gluten-free
  • have no artificial colors, flavors or preservatives
  • are well priced
  • offer an easy, healthier dressing option

They are not optimally healthy though, as they:

  • contain oils (food extracts/isolates)
  • contain oils that are especially high in omega-6 and a cause of more inflammation in the body
  • are high in sodium
  • contain juices (food extracts/isolates)

Organicville Dressings on Amazon