Richard, obviously you and I are different, but to be honest more often than not my undereating phase consists of an apple or two, a banana or two, and coffee whenever I can sit down to have one. That's it (as well as a post workout whey protein shake or cottage cheese). I feel okay doing that but then I'm used to it, having been doing that for nearly a year.
I think the vital thing that Ori Hofmekler outlines that some overlook is the food combos that you have hinted at being more diligent with. Do it. Have days of high carb and days of high fat (more high fat if your goal is lean-ness in my experience), but don't have high amounts of both in one day. Pick a fuel for the day and stick to it. If you have high fat AND high carb intake all at once for days at a time (what I call 'calorie circuses'), then I find all hell breaks loose in terms of fat gain.