The only thing you should ditch is the idea that there is a right or wrong stroke.  Stroke whatever feels good and gets you there.  Me?  I now pry off the gunwales mostly.  I could give a rip that it's "novice" and lazy.

I think a J stroke is more effective as a leisurely stroke, such as for trolling when fishing.  I use a very short J at the end of my stroke, just a little 1/4 flip at the end of the stroke as the paddle is coming out of the water for the next stroke.  It is also useful when paddling tandem and your front paddler is not quite as strong as you are.  Then I'll do it every second or third stroke just to maintain direction instead of ruddering to adjust.  The trick is to adjust often and not wait until the canoe is beginning to noticeably veer off course.
Now I exclusively kayak and use a double bladed paddle.  A kayak paddle allows you to take an extra power stroke (or 2 or 3) to adjust direction and not have to rudder at all.  I have found going back to a canoe paddle uses a whole different set of muscles than the double bladed paddle does.

J stroke is probably the worst of the strokes for paddling a solo in the wind.  In short, you lose too much momentum making your correction, and if you lose too much momentum, the wind wins.  That's why you found "sit and switch" or "hit n' switch" or the "Minnesota Hut" as its alternatively called to be more effective - your stroke rate is higher and therefore, you maintain momentum better.  

But that is so inelegant - crude but effective, and I will resort to that if the wind is pushing me backwards or about to.

in quiet conditions, where you are just out for a slow cruise, a J is fine - you are coasting nicely between strokes and you have plenty of time to make the J work without losing much forward momentum
(without doing ruddering - that loses even more momentum)

I use a "C" stroke about 99% of the time.  It is a little bit of bow draw (to start your bow to the paddle side a little bit, changing into a forward stroke which tends to bush the boat the other direction, and ending with a little bit of J to bring the bow back to center.  In reality it looks more like this  -   (   - on the right side, not as exagerated as the C looks, and less of a J at the end.  I find it maintains momentum better than a J, and I can keep up a higher cadence.  I use it in my river boat, my WW boat and my lake boats.    I use straight shaft paddles - i don't like bent shaft for solo boats, and I stay on on one side for a while, then switch to the opposite side for the same length of time.  The stronger the wind, the more frequently I'll switch.

most people I paddle with use sit and switch with bent shaft paddles almost exclusively, but will switch to a straight shaft for more technical sections

padddling in headwinds, forward progress is best made by keeping the bow directly into the wind - the wind has less effect that way.  I do that even on rivers, taking the wind out of play, so I don't have to contend with both wind and current.  It also helps to trim a bit bow heavy, and that includes kneeling rather than sitting.

I suggest you try the C and see if it works better for you.  

Sit and switch works best in hard tracking boats - better in a lake boat with minimal rocker than in a river boat with 2" of rocker - the better the boat tracks straight, the more strokes per side you can get before you need to switch - generally that will be 3 to 5 strokes per side.

another stroke that is useful in headwinds is a sweep stroke at the bow - depending on your trim and your boat, it may be a more effective correction than a J, though it will also cost you momentul loss, but I think it is a quicker correction than the J, and that gets you back to a forward stroke quicker - that is useful for when the wind is shoving your bow around a lot, usually when the wind is shifting direction a lot.  I use that at times, when its hard to get the bow back into the wind, then go back to my C as quick as I can - sometimes, I will exaggerate the bow draw at the start of the C if I need more of a draw



edit:  if you decide to use sit n' switch, you will be better off with a bent shaft paddle, and you will want one a few inches shorter than your straight shaft

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I'm almost exclusively a double paddle user, but bring a bentshaft for times the double paddle won't get the job done.
Slow trolling or just a leisurely paddle, I'll use the single and either a modified J like IC, or a C stroke like M_M recommends.

The year I went from Wolseley up Bearpelt creek, I used both paddles as conditions warranted. My double paddle is longer than you would use in a true solo. It's 9', longer as I'm paddling a tandem back wards. In narrow sections I used my single and in one section, stood and used the double paddle as a push pole rather than get out a wade. I've done the same thing numerous times on Jean Creek. Probably not advisable in a true narrow solo, but in a loaded tandem as long as you have a good center of balance, easier than you might think.
I use a " rolling" touring double paddle stroke, not a " windmill" type stroke you see kayakers use when racing/competing. I needed the extra length so I can keep shaft relatively level and not continually bang the gunnel's
I think Wally is right on using what works for you and not get hung up on whether your doing it like the experts advise.
We all drive vehicles and are driving skills vary. I'd like to have the driving skills of a Mario Andretti, but I don't and still manage to get around and enjoy the ride
The more you paddle, the more time you have to polish your skills and learn and practice the classic paddling strokes.
Most of us don't have that luxury, so we do the best we can with what we have.
I don't care what stroke or paddle you use, just don't be one of those paddlers that are heard before seen, becasue their banging the gunnel's/hull on every stroke, especially on Aluminum canoes

Yak paddles make too much noise for my taste. My 3 minute trial with one got me wet enough to just say no thanks.

If you don't mind switching, switch. It's probably the most efficient, other than the switching part. I end up doing that if paddling into a hard wind or if I want to go fast. Going fast isn't efficient IMO, just more work.

A C as described works ok. So does feathering. If you have long arms and can get the blade under the boat there's much less correction needed. I can do that at a speed I consider efficient all day but if I try to push it speed wise, even a little, the back of the boat starts skidding out and I have to rudder it back. Remember it's called a paddle, not a rudder. Ruddering is for turning while slowing down like when you're coming up to a landing.

If I had a solo boat of my own, I swear I'd take out the seat and move a thwart to position the seat back as far as I could. Paddling at the middle of a canoe has always seemed dumb to me. I hate switching.