Meghan Trainor On Her 'Gross' Debut Book, Go-To Pregnancy Snack Hacks, and More

"It’s going to get gross, but it's going to get real," she divulged about her upcoming book in a new interview with Parade.

It's a big month for Meghan Trainor fans, not to mention the musician herself!

Within a span of 12 or so hours, the "Lips Are Movin'" singer announced her debut novel, Dear Future Mama, her second pregnancy with husband Daryl Sabara, and made her acting debut on Hulu's How I Met Your Father.

Trainor, who has also grown quite the following on TikTok, is very popular for her frequent, candid looks into her life—from her bathroom habits (she and her husband have tandem toilets) and inconveniences (normalize anal fissures) to her mental health diagnoses to her desperate attempts to quell car sickness—and is diving even deeper in the upcoming book, out April 25, which promises a TMI look at pregnancy, birth, motherhood, and all that falls in between.

The budding author spoke with Parade about how she composed all of her thoughts for the page, even offering a sneak peek at some of the unexpected topics covered and the experts she tapped to contribute, plus the massive coincidence surrounding her How I Met Your Father guest spot, a new dream partnership with her favorite snack brand, Quaker Oats, and more.

You've always given a very candid look into your life. Did you find this new medium easier or more difficult in which to open up?

Oh, my God. I was like, word vomit! I have an amazing co-writer who helped put my words into real sentences. I spent a couple of weeks, just like *insert word vomit noises here* on every detail. And she was like, ‘This is so nice. You just wrote the whole book.’ And I was like, ‘There you go. Make it make sense. Talk about easy.

What did you get out of, or, alternatively, feel like you were giving by writing a book instead of doing a TikTok series on the same topics, for example?

I mean, just the fact that I can go into more details, you know? TikTok you can do like three minutes, but with a book you can explain every feeling you were having in that moment.

Also, in my book, I have my personal trainer, that I'm blessed enough to be able to hire, talk through every chapter. She specializes in helping pregnant women in working out safely during their pregnancy. So she gives great advice. My dietician, who helped me safely lose all the baby weight the first time, and keep it off, she comes in and is like, ‘Here's what we could be eating during trimesters one, two and three. And then my OB-GYN, my actual doctor who did my C-section, is all up in my book, like giving great advice.

So not only is it funny and TMI and you get to really know me and my whole body, but you get to learn some stuff and not feel so alone, you know?

What is something that you think might surprise your fans about Dear Future Mama?

Um…how dirty can we get on Parade? The details of the blisters on my boobies and how I had to pop them myself? You know, it’s going to get gross, but it's going to get real. I hope, because a lot of my fans are growing up with me and they're also having babies, you know? I know I have a lot of young fans, but I know a lot of them are with me on round two on a second kid already, you know? So I hope they feel not alone.

When you posted the teaser for your baby news on TikTok, most people seemed to jump to the right conclusion. Did you expect crazy theories to come out of that or did you know that's where everyone was going to go?

My friend, Chris Olsen, helped me edit that, and I was like, ‘Chris, this is so obvious!’ And he's like, ‘Yeah, duh. They love to know that they're right.’ And I was like, ‘You're smart.’ But those videos were actually the gender reveal because I didn't film me telling everyone I was pregnant right away because I'm a blabbermouth and was like, ‘I'm pregnant!!!’

Your formal reveal was so well orchestrated. What made you decide to announce your pregnancy on Today, and how long did it take you to figure out how you were going to do it?

I announced my first pregnancy on the Today Show with Hoda, she is my queen. I don't know if she knows this, but we have a really close bond, and we're best friends. I've been seeing her since I was 19 years old, it's been like ten years now, and every time I go to the show, they are family.

They are so nice to me. They don't have to be that nice to me, but they are. And every time I saw Hoda, I was like, ‘I'm going to make babies and I'm going to have the most beautiful baby. I can't wait to be a mom like you.’ And she was like, ‘You're going to make the most beautiful babies, and I can't wait.’

So I announced my first baby with her, and then we knew the second one, we were like, ‘We got to do it with Hoda on the Today Show.’ It happened to time out perfectly with my book, too. So we knew we could be like, ‘Oh, well, we'll let her think we're announcing the book,’ which we are, and then my team actually had a great idea. They're like, ‘What if your ultrasound’s in the book, and we're like, Hoda, open it?’ I was like, ‘Done. That's how we're doing it.’ So yeah, that took a conversation and we were like, ‘This is perfect.’

After Riley was born, you opened up about taking antidepressants while pregnant with him and the criticism that came with it. Did that lead to any changes in the way you prioritize your mental health for this pregnancy?

It's definitely been rocking my brain. This time around, even though I know it was safe, I know everything was fine, I got judged by my first doctor. He was like, ‘You could throw those candies away.’ And I was like, ‘These candies saved my life.’ So I'm going to go cry about this later and not tell you about it.

And then I knew I had to change doctors, and that's all in the book. And I have a female doctor now who gives me hours, like, lets me sit there and talk to her about everything. And I make sure every doctor on my team like I was, like, ‘Is this safe? Is this okay to be on?’ And they were like, ‘Absolutely.’

But even this second time around, even the judgment from, like, the NICU nurses being like, ‘Oh, your baby came out asleep because you're on antidepressants, so,’ and I was like, ‘But that's not, that's not science.’ That's not proven! And they're like, hmm.

Even this time around I've asked my psychiatrist, ‘Should I try to get off the medicine?’ And he's like, ‘No, they're getting to you and they're bullying you. But remember, a happy mom is a happy baby. You had no depression, no postpartum depression.’ We can see now even more and more cases are coming out where you can have psychosis breaks. It's really heartbreaking to watch, but I know I'm happy and I'm safe with my medicine.

So, happy mom is a happy baby. It's kind of that method of on the airplane where you're like, ‘I have to put my mask on first and then put it on my kid.’ It's just tough to remind yourself that, because as a mom, you're like, give everything to them, forgetting that I am the vessel that's holding this baby.

Definitely. And are you finding any new inspiration for songwriting in this journey so far?

Like being a mama?

Pregnancy, mental health and pregnancy, being a mama, any of it.

Yeah, yeah. My last album, you can hear it smothered in there. Takin’ it Back, this album I have “Made You Look” on, there's a song on there called “Superwoman.” That's like the mom guilt, the mom exhaustion, where everyone's like, ‘Wow, you're amazing. You can make life and be a working mom and do it all,’ and I'm like, ‘I cry a lot!’ It's like, I might look like superwoman, but I feel like I didn't get the criminal today, and I'm flying in the rain and I'm pooped and I'm tired and is this normal? And nobody, nobody complains. Nobody talks about this, ‘cause this is how I feel, you know? And the more I'm vulnerable and open about it, the more my fans or strangers will relate to me, and it makes me feel like I'm not crazy or alone. I'm like, ‘Oh, sweet. I'm normal.’

You've been full of surprises this week with your appearance on How I Met Your Father. Have you been interested in transitioning to TV, or did this opportunity just kind of pop up for you?

I'm in a really cool mom class, like a music class with Hilary Duff, my queen, like the person I worship in life. And she FaceTimed me one day, which is rare. So I was like, ‘Uh oh, I'm in trouble.’ She FaceTimes me and asked, ‘Do you want to be on my show’? And I am a huge fan of the show, so I was like, ‘Stop!’

She has pictures of me crying on the FaceTime. I'm like, ‘Seriously?’ And she's like, ‘You want to give a home birth on my show?’ And I’m like, ‘What?! I've never been in labor, but I would love to! I'll do whatever you ask of me. I will do backflips for you, Hilary Duff.’

So it was the best week of my life and I cried, leaving. I always wanted to do TV—I've just been so nervous. So it was so lovely being like with a friend and a person I knew and being like, ‘Am I doing this right? Is this okay?’ And she was like, ‘You're killing it!’

Were you pregnant while you were filming, or is this timing just one big coincidence?

Oh, it's the biggest, craziest coincidence ever. The morning that I announced this pregnancy, that episode came out that night and Hilary was like, ‘This is great!’ And I was like, ‘I didn't even plan this!’

But fun fact, when I was filming that episode, I was on my period. So in the bathtub, I was like, Hilary, if you see my tampon string, don’t panic.

She was like, ‘Yeah, I see it.’

So you obviously just mentioned, then, an interest in pursuing acting further. So what would your dream role look like?

Anything… Oh man. Comedy probably, or rom-com or anything with my husband, I would cry to-

At this point, a shadow flashes across the frosted glass wall at the back of the room — her husband, presumably, holding her adorable toddler, Riley, for a quick peek inside. Do you see my baby? Oop! Peek-a-boo! She interjects before seamlessly returning to her response.

-I would cry to be able to work with my husband. He was there on set with me at How I Met Your Father and was holding my script and my water and was like, ‘You're killing it, Babe!’

He was like my acting coach, so, yeah, that would be a dream.

On TikTok, you’ve already had a variety of incredible guest stars on your account. Who would your dream TikTok guest star be?

My dream TikTok guest star… there’s so many, gosh. To be on my TikTok?

Yeah. Or, sure, who's TikTok would you want to be on? Either, or.

Oh, this is, oh, God. My other problem is I doom scroll, and just watch crime on there.

Abbie? You know Abbie, an off-screen voice, which almost definitely belongs to Chris Olsen, suggests.

Oh! I love Abbie Herbert. Abbie Herbert, she's a model, and amazing. And she's a mama on TikTok and promotes being a mama so well. And I think she's hilarious. Her and her husband are adorable. I'd love to collaborate with her. We text a lot. A lot. But we've never gotten to meet in person, actually. So check her page out–it's great!

I think she's popped up on my For You Page a few times.

Yeah! Like stunning, and has a daughter, Poppy, but [nick]named Poot. That baby girl is the most beautiful thing I've ever seen. And they're about to have a baby boy!

And your Quaker Oats partnership, what inspired you to take it all the way back to the beginning, to All About That Bass, with this?

I mean, they're brilliant, they're geniuses. They came to me and they're like, ‘We have a great idea.’ And I was like, ‘Oh, this is so smart.’ And I literally screamed, and my mom was like, ‘The amount of rice cakes that we buy! This makes so much sense!’ Because I was raised on these.

These were the snack in my house. I'm not saying that to be a great partner. We ate so many rice cakes. My favorites are white cheddar and caramel, and they were like, ‘We have an idea to do, like all about that base.’ Like, what's your recipe, because you can do creative toppings. And I was like, ‘Please, please let me be a part of this.’ So when I do a sweet one, I do the caramel one with peanut butter, sometimes banana, if we’re crazy, and my salty routine will be the lightly salted rice cake with guacamole on top, so it's like an avocado toast moment. And if I'm fancy I do pickled onions on it—if I want to have stinky breath.

But yeah, it's just the best base to be creative and it's my favorite snack and I love a good crunch. Me my momma crunchy gals, so yeah, this partnership was a no-brainer. I actually filmed a couple of TikToks coming out where I'm a chef and I show my cute recipes, and I hope that other people make videos showing me their recipes because I want to learn.

I can't wait to one day, with my kids, to make our own recipes. But yeah, I thought it was just brilliant to have a rice cake for a base, because I'm all about that base!

What would you say your most bizarre rice cake recipe is like? What would people look at you eating and cringe about?

I mean, I'm not gross! With my pregnancy, I could eat the peanut butter caramel, easy one, and follow with a pickle. Or I do a cold pizza moment. There's that pizza flavor one, the tomato basil, where you can put cheese and pepperoni and some sauce and have a cold pizza leftover moment. Maybe they might cringe at that, but I think it's delicious.

Which of your rice cake creations do you find yourself craving the most often right now?

The sweet one! My caramel peanut butter. I eat peanut butter every day with this pregnancy. And I'm like a salty gal, but for some reason, I'm like, I need sweet right now. So yeah, I've been grabbing that caramel bag. Especially when I travel to work anywhere, I need snacks in the car. So there's always some kind of crunchy snack and it's mostly my rice cakes.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity. Stay tuned to Meghan Trainor's TikTok to see more of her favorite snack recipes!