Fans first met Bachelor Nation star Kit Keenan on Season 25 of “The Bachelor.” Since then, she’s been continuing to share her journey with Bachelor Nation fans on social media.

Kit is known for posting everything from delicious healthy recipes to iconic fashion looks and everything in between!

She’s also kept in touch and frequently spends time with many of her fellow Bachelor Nation stars in New York City.

Now, Kit is sitting down exclusively with BachelorNation.com to discuss all things fashion, fitness, food, and more.

Check out Kit’s entire interview — including whether she’d date a fellow Bachelor Nation star — below!

Bachelor Nation: Let’s start with your time on “The Bachelor,” how have you processed your experience on the show now that it’s been almost a year since you were last on TV?

Kit Keenan: It’s crazy it’s been around a year! It was really hard when I first got back, because there was just a lot to process. It’s an emotionally taxing experience, to just lay your heart on the line, and to be away from friends and family and just out of your comfort zone. I was processing all of that for a few months when I got back. And now, I feel like I’m finding my stride again. I’m comfortable in New York. I’m so happy that so many of the girls from my season moved to New York, that makes me very, very happy. It’s fun because I’m seeing New York through their eyes now and it just makes me appreciate the city more.

BN: Yes, it’s so nice that you get to spend so much time with the other women from your season! Did you have any specific takeaways from your experience in the Bachelor franchise?

KK: On a very simple level, I learned how to open up more. I like to have control and oftentimes that makes me seem like a closed book. But being in that setting around people who were super committed to being very open, even just in the house with the girls, really helped me open up. It wasn’t just in my relationship with Matt, but at the same time, in my relationship with Matt I was very committed to having no regrets. I wanted to leave there feeling like I had said everything I needed to say. And I feel like I achieved that. Now, I’m taking that into all of my personal relationships, even though it’s a lot easier for me to be closed off and not share how I feel. But in the end, you will have regrets if you don’t leave it all out there.

BN: That’s a great takeaway that I’m sure many others can relate to. Did your time on “The Bachelor” impact how you moved through the dating world now?

KK: Yeah, I think a lot of people who I’ve dated who know about the show and how it works understand when I am now way more open right on the first date. But I’ve also been on dates with a few guys who clearly have no clue what the show is about, how it works, or how open people are. So I’m constantly having to check myself in those settings being like ‘Okay, this is how I am used to dating now, but I’m also in the real world and I have to have those small talk conversations sometimes on a first date, like where are you from?’ I have to remind myself that just covering the basics on a first date is what it’s like for most people.

BN: Totally! Coming out of an experience like dating on “The Bachelor,” that makes sense. Does that ever make you consider trying to date someone in the Bachelor Nation family?

KK: I haven’t met anyone yet within the Bachelor world that I feel like matches exactly what I’m looking for. But you never know! There are so many people that I feel like I haven’t really gotten to know on a deeper level yet in Bachelor Nation. So I’m not closed off to it. I just haven’t really been exposed to anyone yet that where I’m like, ‘Okay, I feel like this could be my person.’” But when it comes to dating in general, people always ask me if I think it’s weird that people can easily find out information about my life from being on the show and I don’t think it is. For most people, they do a solid Instagram stalk before going on a first date so you know a few things about them anyway. It’s not that different.

BN: Good point, and definitely keep up posted if you do meet someone from Bachelor Nation that catches your eye! Speaking of Instagram stalking, we are obsessed with all the recipes you post on Instagram. What is your favorite thing about cooking?

KK: For me, cooking is like a little mini meditation. I’m not on my phone and just get to be creative and see what I can make at the end. Also, most of my recipes have a healthy spin. That’s my favorite little niche within cooking. But I always say I don’t bake! Baking is almost like doing math, like everything needs to be so precise for a perfect cake or for the final product to be edible. For me, cooking is really about just going with the flow and sometimes I barely measure things out.

BN: Love that. Cooking is a great creative outlet! Going into the holidays, do you have a favorite holiday meal/recipe to make?

KK: In my family, I’m focused on the sides. I’m the sides girl. Making a full turkey or anything like that is definitely a commitment and most of my recipes are pretty quick. So spending hours and hours on one thing isn’t for me. But because I’m the side girl, I love elevating vegetables. I think that’s really where my love is because I want people to eat more vegetables and realize they can be good! Half of my family is Irish and their cooking is very simple. Delicious, but mostly like very simple recipes. I remember when I was growing up I didn’t want to eat brussels sprouts that were just steamed. So now I want to shave them and have them in a beautiful salad or roast them and have a beautiful dressing on them. So my role in the family is elevating the side dishes!

BN: Wow, that sounds delicious! What about a sweet tooth? I know you said you aren’t into baking, but do you have any favorite holiday desserts?

KK: Oh, yeah. Of course I have a sweet tooth. I mean, doesn’t everyone?! My grandma and all of her friends gather before the holidays, and they do this cookie exchange where everyone brings one type of cookie and then they all try each other’s and take some home. That’s when I go over to my grandma’s and try all of the different cookies. That’s my favorite!

BN: That’s so sweet! Love a good cookie exchange. Okay, let’s talk about your style because Bachelor Nation fans can’t get enough of all of your looks. What fashion tips do you have for others trying to hone their style?

KK: My advice is always to try and find a style icon or somebody in the fashion world from history that you can look up to. I think a lot of people just follow trends and they want to dress exactly like Hailey Bieber or Bella Hadid, which makes sense because their style is so amazing and beautifully curated, but it’s also just with trends. For me, my style icon is Jackie O. So while I’m willing to experiment with trends, at the end of the day, I have a more timeless style because I’m able to  look up to somebody whose style is eternal. Find someone that you can look up to and take inspiration from their wardrobe. That way you can find what you love while not getting too caught up in trends or what’s in right now.

BN: That is really great advice. You also post a lot of your workouts and have shared how much you like “exercise snacking,” aka working out in smaller increments throughout the day. Is this still something you do?

KK:  Now that fitness classes are open in New York again, I do love trying new classes. But when I’m not going to a class, exercise snacking is the best way for me to work out. My job is so sedentary most of the time, so getting up away from my computer and doing something like a 10-minute workout helps me get into a good headspace and be able to be more productive throughout the day. There’s a lot of research on this and I certainly don’t know everything, but I’ve read that it’s just as effective as an hour-long workout. Sometimes it can be even more effective, because I’m sure most of us have experienced like, at the 30- or 45-minute mark of an hour-long workout, you can tap out and lay low. But if you had split up that workout into 20-minute increments throughout the day, maybe you would have hit those 20-minute increments harder. So I would suggest if you’re not a person who loves working out or if you’re trying to introduce working out into your life, start with smaller workouts throughout the day. Even if it’s only 10 minutes in the morning and 10 minutes at night, see if that gets you interested. You still get the little workout high that we all love. It’s not as much of a commitment and it’s less intimidating than longer workouts.

BN: What a cool concept; gonna have to try that! Last but not least, what are the biggest things you learned over this past year both from your time on “The Bachelor” and throughout the pandemic?